Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 21 (PTI) The national child rights panel has directed its Kerala unit here to take action on a complaint that the management of a private school denied promotion to two Muslim girl students because they were wearing long-sleeved uniforms.

The complaint was given by a person named Naushad Thekkayil who alleged that the girls--Fathima Thasneem and Hafsa Parveen, studying in the sixth and second standards of the school at Thiruvallam near here-had not been promoted to the next class by its principal.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights asked the state panel to take immediate action for violation of child rights and also ensure that the children should not be deprived of studies and promoted to higher classes.

The directive was given in a letter sent to Chairperson of Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, C J Antony, a copy of which was released to the media.

When contacted, school management sources, however, denied any kind of discrimination against students on the basis of uniform.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)