Education PS Bitok orders immediate return of Lwak Girls’ student barred from wearing hijab

The National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee has ordered Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok to order an immediate return of the St. Mary’s Lwak Girls High School student Samira Ramadhan back to school after she was sent home for putting on a hijab.

The PS said every learner enjoys freedom of worship under the constitution and directed that the student returns to school immediately.

“There should be no discrimination whatsoever on matters of religion or any faith, and it is very clear. That’s why I requested for more time, because the story we’re getting from the sub-county Director of Education in the preliminary report and what we’re getting from the school seem to be requiring further investigations to understand what really happened on this issue,” said Bitok.

“I will ensure that the girl gets back to school as soon as possible…as soon as today,” the PS declared after objections raised by the MPs.

He spoke as Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale called out the school's management and termed the act an infringement of the freedom of worship protected under the Constitution.

“A Mkorino can wear their thing and go to school. A Singh can wear his turban and go to school. A Muslim girl can wear a hijab and go to school,” said Duale.

St. Mary’s Lwak Girls High School is accused of barring Samira Ramadhan, a Grade 10 student, from donning the hijab despite assurances given at the time of her admission that she would be allowed to wear her religious outfit.

According to Samira and her parents, the position taken by the school changed barely a month after she reported, denying her the freedom she had been promised.

Samira’s father said repeated attempts to seek clarification from the school’s administration over the decision to bar his daughter from wearing the hijab were met with silence.

"Nilikuwa nimemalizana na school fees ya hii term nimeamua kutoka na mtoto wangu nimpeleke kwenye wanakubali waislamu," stated Nasib Ali Ramadhan, the father.

The incident reignited debate on the delicate balance between religion and education, more so at a time when parents and learners have limited or no options to transfer schools under the government’s learner placement system for senior secondary education.

The Supreme Court of Kenya set precedent in its 2019 ruling when it overturned a 2016 Court of Appeal decision that had allowed Muslim students to wear the hijab in non-Muslim schools, ruling that every school has a right to determine its own dress code.

However, questions about religious accommodation in schools persist, especially when students are placed by the government in institutions with strict religious traditions despite clearly indicating their faith during application.