Norway's government proposes banning the burqa in the classroom

Norway's government has proposed banning the burqa in schools and universities.

The country's right-leaning government said it was considering the "national regulations prohibiting the full-face veil in schools and universities", a move also supported by the Labour opposition party, reports the Telegraph.

However, education minister Torbjorn Roe Isaksen pointed out that Norway would not follow France, where the burkini is banned from some beaches.

The number of women who wear the full-length burqa in the Scandinavian country is small. Roe said people who wore religious clothing or items would still be free to do so.

"I want a young Christian girl who wears a cross to be able to show it," Roe told Norway's parliament. "I want a Jewish boy who wears a kippa to be able to show it. And I do not want a ban on the hijab."

Bulgaria voted to ban the burqa from all public places, with similar moves agreed in France and Belgium. Switzerland also approved a draft bill on a nationwide ban by a small margin.

Germany has suggested it might favour a partial ban, while Spain and the Netherlands have approved a partial ban. In September 2016, a YouGov poll found that a majority of Britons also want the burqa banned, reported the Independent.

Norway's Muslim population is growing, thought to be partly due to the migrant crisis, but some locals are unhappy about ways in which the country seems to be changing.

In September, hairdresser Merete Hodne, who refused to cut the hair of a Muslim in a hijab, was fined 10,000 kroner (£985) plus costs. Hodne said she "did not dislike all Muslims but women who wore the hijab made her nervous", Russia Today reported.