Sikh family challenges Oz school’s ban on turban

Melbourne, July 27

A Sikh family in Australia has launched a legal battle against a Christian school in Melbourne for denying admission to their five-year-old son because he wears “patka”, a children’s turban, according to a media report.

Sidhak Singh Arora was due to start prep at Melton Christian College in Melbourne’s north-west this year.

But his patka does not comply with the school’s uniform policy which prohibits students from wearing any type of religious head covering.

His family has taken their fight to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), claiming the school had breached the state’s Equal Opportunity Act by discriminating against their son on religious grounds.

The boy’s father, Sagardeep Singh Arora, said he was surprised the school would not make an exemption for his son. — PTI