Turban row at Aussie school
Press Trust Of India
Melbourne, February 25, 2008

A Sikh couple has challenged an Australian school’s decision not to enroll their son allegedly because his turban breached the institution’s uniform rules.

The family, who cannot be named because of a suppression order, filed a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Commission in Queensland state in February last year saying the Brisbane private school Ormiston College had refused to admit their 12-year-old son, the AAP reported on Monday.

Headmaster Brett Webster said the school had a strict uniform policy. On alleged demands that the Sikh student cut his hair and remove his patka, he said “the offer (for admission) was made with the usual school rules in mind and so there was not a request from the school that the family do anything in particular”.

The family's solicitor, Scott McDougall, told AAP the boy’s parents had lodged a complaint with the Commission but no date had yet been set for a hearing.