in my opinion. There should be clear, open communication between students, as well as between students and faculty. Niqaab is a barrier to communication and identification. How would a professor keep track of student participation when there is more than one niqaab wearer in his class? How can he identify who is doing what in labs. I just don't think it has any place in the classroom. The girls that wear it should remove it upon entering the classroom.

Furthermore, as Genesis has noted (and even I have heard this from friends in the West, niqaab has been used increasingly to make a political-religious statement. I can see why a country concerned about secularity would want to ban it.