Boy may wear turban in Limburg school

Thirteen-year-old Saranjit Singh from Sint-Truiden, Limburg province, is allowed to continue wearing a turban to school, according to a ruling by the Council of State.

Singh, who attends the Atheneum Sint-Truiden, has Indian roots and is a Sikh, a follower of a religion that requires hair be kept intact and the head covered. The Flemish Community's Go! education network forbids the wearing of religious symbols, including turbans and headscarves, in the schools it governs. The judges of the Council of State, however, ruled that a school must have a specific reason to introduce the ban.

The boy’s lawyer commented that the network will never be able to uphold such a ban on religious symbols because it is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.