Schools can STILL ban the burka

I have made reference to the Islamic veil, in its various forms, a couple of times on this blog. Now it seems that the government is to issue new guidelines telling schools that they can ban the damn thing, if they so wish.

However, they do not have to. All that the new guidelines do is restate the existing position, which is that the decision as to what pupils can and cannot wear in schools is at the discretion of the headmaster. A lot of people, though, are going to skim read reports of what has been said, and come away thinking that the government has done something concrete, when in fact it's just another exercise in spin. It's the government's usual exercise in deception: pretend you're doing something about a problem, while really doing nothing.

What the government should do is ban the burka altogether, be that in schools or anywhere else. A poll on the BBC website is presently showing 88% support for a ban on the burka in schools. But of course, that won't happen.