BENGALURU: Four students, all from Kashmir were allegedly barred from attending the nursing college for growing beard.
According to The Hindu reports, the students, three from the first year, B.Sc (Nursing) and one from second-year faced the alleged discrimination after Ms. Priyadarshini joined the college — the Adarsh College of Nursing in Mariyappana, Mallathahalli as a new principal.
Citing reasons of ‘hygiene’, the students were told by the Principal that if they fail to shave off their beard, their internal marks would be affected and they could face expulsion.
“For the last one week, we are being sent out of class on instructions from the principal for not shaving our beards. The management was fine with our beards when we got our admission at the college. All of a sudden, the principal, who joined just 20 days ago, asked us to shave our beards and barred us from attending classes. The beards are part of our religion and I don’t understand why it should bother the principal. Even on Wednesday, we could attend only two classes and when the principal got to know of it, she asked the lecturers to send us out,” the students told The Hindu newspaper.
Mr. Laxman Rudawat, convener of Nursing Association in Hyderabad told, “There is no particular rule in the medical books that the male nurses can’t keep beards. But as a decorum and also maintaining the professional look the male nurses are asked to be clean shaved. The reason is in a beard a person’s perspective is that of a very serious or sad person and for that reason, it is stated that they must be clean shaved,” reported Deccan Chronicle.