In Novocherkassk, college administration refuses to dialogue with expelled students

Female students, including those from Chechnya and Dagestan, who were expelled from the medical college in Novocherkassk for wearing hijabs, did not achieve a dialogue with the administration of the educational institution. The students are ready to agree to reinstatement with subsequent transfer to other colleges, an advocate notes.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 20, it became known that five female students, including natives of Dagestan and Chechnya, had been expelled from the medical college in Novocherkassk for wearing hijabs. The students complained to the prosecutor and the Ombudsman. The administration of the medical college announced that the students could return to their studies if they refused to wear clothes with religious attributes. Lawyer Ruslan Nagiev pointed out that the administration of the educational institution violated the students’ rights. Dagestani blogger Maryam Alieva posted a petition on the Internet demanding the reinstatement of the female students.

Advocate Magomed Nurbagomedov reported that the complaints had been filed to the governments of Chechnya and Dagestan.

The report that the college put forward conditions for the reinstatement of the female students is incorrect, the advocate emphasizes. “The college administration does not enter into any dialogue,” Magomed Nurbagomedov said.

According to him, the female students are ready to compromise. “They agree to be reinstated in the college and to be transferred to another similar educational institution. Maybe in another region,” the advocate stated.

Most often, such cases end in success, notes advocate Marat Ashimov, who has repeatedly acted as a representative of women who defend the right to wear hijabs at the place of study or work. “Recently, a student was expelled from a medical college in Vladimir for wearing a hijab. My colleagues and I prepared complaints and sent them to the Ministry for Public Health, the Ministry of Education, and other public institutions. They quickly responded, the college cancelled its decision and reinstated the Muslim woman in her studies,” the advocate said.