A stealthy order signed last month by the Minister of Education has brought unnecessary attention and divisive policies back to the deep South. The minister, Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, published in the Royal Gazette a new ruling on student dress which in essence, allows administrators of schools located on Buddhist temple land to decide if they will ban the use of the Muslim hijab headdress by girls.
Mr Teerakiat issued the ruling without any public input barring biased meetings of religiously segregated parents of students at Pattani's biggest public facility, the Anuban Pattani School. That's a familiar school to anyone concerned with the South, and with religious freedom. Just six weeks ago, it was in the headlines over the same issue. The background is simple enough.
In mid-May, the new director of the large and popular school, Prachak Chusri, decided to ban the hijab. In contrast with other such ill-advised actions, the school cited religious reasons for the ban. The headmaster claimed that since the school is on the grounds of Wat Noppawongsaram, Buddhist parents and monks were not bound by either the law or dress code regulations. Education permanent secretary Karun Sakulpradit and Boonrak Yodpetch, secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) flew in from Bangkok and reinstated the decades-old order that allows the wearing of hijab by any female students.
