A private school teacher was dismissed on Thursday for assigning practice of Islamic verses as homework to a Hindu student of Class II in Old City Hyderabad, following protests by the boy’s parents.
The parents, who filed a complaint with the police on Thursday morning, withdrew the complaint after the school administration apologized and confirmed that such incidents would not be repeated at the school.
However, the incident sparked strong protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which described it as an “educational jihad”, while police arrested a group of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists who tried to organize a sit-in near the school to demand its closure.
The incident occurred at Al-Najah School in Saeedabad, Old City. A video of the student’s mother arguing with the teacher, identified as Sheikha Ayesha Parveen, to write and recite the ‘Kalima’ and ‘Surat Al-Fatihah’ as part of her class assignment has gone viral on social media.
Instructions for reciting Islamic verses were also included in the student’s homework log, and pictures of them were also spread. HT was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the images.
The mother claimed that her son was assigned to memorize, write and recite the word and Surat Al-Fatihah as part of his classroom assignments without parental consent.
“How can you give such an assignment? This is unacceptable. Would you give similar instructions to your children to read and write the Bhagavad Gita Sloka?” The mother was heard arguing with the teacher in the video.
She alleged that the exercise hurt their religious sentiments and confronted the school administration and demanded strict action against those responsible.
As the controversy escalated, the school principal issued a letter on Wednesday evening terminating Parveen’s services, effective Thursday. The school stated that it was permanently banned from seeking work at any institution affiliated with the Al-Najah Group of Educational Institutions.
The dispute was later resolved after the school administration apologized to the family. In a letter addressed to the school principal, the student’s father, G Rajasekhar, stated that the family accepted the apology given by the teacher concerned.
He expressed confidence that such an incident would not be repeated. He asked the school authorities to withdraw all complaints related to the case, and assured the administration and teaching staff of the family’s cooperation.
Speaking to the media, Charminar District Deputy Commissioner of Police, K Kiran Prabhakar, said that the incident came to the attention of the police after reports surfaced that a teacher had assigned Kalma recitation as homework.
“Of the 25 students in the class, 24 are Muslims and one is a Hindu. This was a complete violation of the education policy as well as the school policy,” the Communist Party said.
He said the school acknowledged the violation and fired the teacher in question. “The parents said they were satisfied with the action taken and did not wish to proceed further. No FIR was lodged,” he added.
Prabhakar also pointed out that the school has students and teachers belonging to different religions. He said that the administration initially emphasized that homework was only intended for Muslim students who chose a topic related to Islamic teachings.
A school representative, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the institution has about 700 students, only seven of whom are Hindu. In the second-grade section where the incident occurred, there are 25 students, including only one Hindu student.
Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao alleged that the incident reflects the minority appeasement policies of the Congress government. He claimed that asking a Hindu student to learn the Kalima and Surat Al-Fatiha amounts to “teaching jihad”.
He said that removing the teacher alone is not enough and called for action to be taken against the school administration. “Educational institutions must provide education and not impose any religion on students,” he said, calling for a comprehensive investigation and legal action against those responsible, and the school to be revoked if necessary.
Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar also criticized the school management and termed the mission unacceptable. “There are attempts to undermine Hindu culture in schools,” he claimed.
The controversy also sparked protests by RSS members outside the school on Thursday.
“The police arrested me at Success School and took me to Kanchanbagh police station just to ask why the FIR has not been registered yet and why there seems to be an attempt to suppress the case. The law should be implemented fairly and impartially, without fear or favour,” said K Karunasagar, RSS member and former BJP legal cell coordinator.
