Section 26: Exclusion of discrimination on account of race, religion, etc.

No person shall be required to satisfy requirements as to any of the following matters, that is to say race (including ethnic grouping), sex, place of birth or of the family origin or religious or political persuasion or as a condition of becoming or continuing to be a student at the polytechnic or as a holder of any certificate of the polytechnic, or of any appointment or employment at the polytechnic, or a member of any body established by virtue of this Act; and no person shall be subjected to any disadvantage or accorded any advantage in relation to the polytechnic by reference to any of those matters:
Provided that, nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the polytechnic from imposing any disability or restriction on any of the aforementioned persons where such a person wilfully refuses or fails on grounds of religious belief to undertake any duty generally and uniformly imposed on all such persons or any group of them which duty, having regard to its nature and the special circumstances pertaining thereto is, in the opinion of the polytechnic, reasonably justifiable in the national interest.