Sayeedabad School Teacher Terminated Over Islamic Prayer Homework Controversy

A private school in Sayeedabad, Hyderabad, has terminated a teacher after a controversy erupted over assigning Islamic prayers as homework to a Class 2 Hindu student. The incident came to light after a relative of the student discovered the assignment in the child's school diary, sparking criticism regarding the inclusion of religious teachings in a secular school curriculum.

The school management of Success, The School, located in the Sayeedabad area, took immediate disciplinary action against the teacher following complaints from the student's family. The controversy began when Supriya Gaud, a relative of the Class 2 student, noticed the homework assignment while picking her nephew up from the school premises.

According to Gaud, she checked the child's school diary and found an entry instructing the student to read the 'Kalma' and 'Surah Fateha'. Gaud questioned the relevance of the assignment to the standard academic curriculum of a second-grade student.

"Yesterday, I went to the school to pick my nephew up and I saw that the contents in his diary was something which is not related to the subject," Gaud said. She added that she saw the teacher had written instructions to read Kalma and Surah Fateha, which she described as "absolutely wrong."

Gaud expressed that school education should remain secular and free from religious teachings, noting that students from various faiths attend the school for a quality education. She argued that religious texts should not be mixed with the general curriculum.

"If you are giving education, just do that. Students from different religions, different aspects are coming to get the education. They're coming for quality education," Gaud said. She suggested that if religious texts are to be taught, the school should include scriptures from other religions as well. "Kalma and Surah Fateha is not a part of the subject, it is a religious book. Do not mix it up. If you want to make it a subject, please put Bhagavad Gita, Bible as a subject," she added.

Following the incident, Gaud expressed gratitude to the school management for acting swiftly and terminating the teacher involved in writing the assignment.