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School says sorry to Sikh boy who
was refused
admission over hair
WSN Network
BRISBANE: An
exclusive private school that refused to enrol a Sikh student unless
he cut his hair and removed his turban has apologised and is
reviewing its uniform rules as part of an out-of-court settlement.
Brisbane's
Ormiston College was taken to Queensland's Anti-Discrimination
Tribunal earlier this year after demanding the 12-year-old boy
conform to the school's uniform code and agree to cut his hair and
remove his turban - putting him at risk of excommunication from the
religion.
The school's
board - which included former Bjelke-Petersen attorney-general Paul
Clauson - endorsed the stance against the boy, which outraged
Australia's
50,000-strong Sikh community and drew criticism from around the
world.
The boy, who
could not be identified because of a suppression order, enrolled at
another private
Brisbane school
after his family moved suburbs when they refused to bow to the
Ormiston College demands.
The
Anti-Discrimination Tribunal case was the first of its kind
involving a Sikh student in
Australia,
although a British court found in a favour of a Sikh student in a
similar trial more than 25 years ago.
An out-of-court
settlement was reached in recent weeks after the school agreed to
issue a public apology and pay the family undisclosed compensation.
Ormiston
College
yesterday confirmed the settlement, which thwarts a public trial in
the tribunal next month.
"Ormiston
College has apologised for any hurt that may have resulted from the
decision, and have undertaken to review their enrolment practices
and uniform policy to ensure that it does not act inbreach of the
Anti-Descrimination Act 1991 (Queensland)," the statement said.
"It is
disappointing that this family had to revisit the issue in
Australia
to guarantee access for the wider Sikh community to an education of
their choice without having to abandon theirreligious practices and
identity."
"We have
agreed to review our enrolment practices to ensure we are aligned
with the Anti-Discrimination Act. "We take that very seriously, but
we have not yet undertaken that review."
3 September 2008
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