Five orthodox protestant schools have been given the green light by the equal opportunities commission to ban teaching staff and pupils from wearing headscarves and Jewish skull caps.

The commission said the school rules did not make an unacceptable difference between people on religious grounds and were part of the schools’ efforts to emphasis their religious identity.
The five schools, all in the Veluwe region, have a heavy religious focus, beginning and ending each day with prayers and Bible readings. The schools’ manager Wim Leeflang told ANP the protocol would not be applied to current staff and pupils. He could not say how many Islamic or Jewish pupils the schools currently has.