Hyderabad: A private school in Hyderabad’s Old City has sacked a teacher after the parents of a Class 2 Hindu student alleged that their child was assigned Islamic religious verses as homework.
The student, enrolled at Success, The School, in Sayeedabad, was asked to recite the Kalma and Surah Fatiha. According to the parents, the teacher had noted “Read Surah Fatiha” in the school diary under the subject “Deeniyath” on July 15. Earlier, on July 11, the teacher had written “Read Kalima” in the diary, but the entry was struck off, apparently after the teacher realised the subject did not apply to the non-Muslim student.
The school management said almost all its students are Muslim and are taught “Deeniyath,” or Islamic studies, as a subject, but that it is not meant to be taught to non-Muslim students. The management called the incident an inadvertent mistake but went ahead and terminated the teacher’s services.
The parents confronted the school management over the homework, questioning its appropriateness in an academic setting, and demanded action against the teacher involved. Following the protest, the school sacked the teacher, identified as Shaik Aisha Parveen, and permanently barred her from applying for employment at any institution under the Success Group of Educational Institutions in future.
According to the child’s aunt, Supritha Goud, the principal had initially told the family the exercise was mandatory for all students, while another staff member later said the entry was made by mistake. The family has demanded strict action against the school authorities, arguing that schools should focus on education and respect the religious beliefs of all students.
Independent MLA T Raja Singh Lodh condemned the incident, calling it deeply shameful that a Class 2 student was allegedly “pressured to recite the Kalma.” He claimed that it was not the first such case in Telangana and that similar incidents had occurred in the past. He said that when the child’s parents questioned the school authorities, they had no answer. Raja Singh demanded that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy act against schools forcing Hindu children to recite the Kalma, and questioned the silence of All India Majlis e Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on the issue.
BJP leader TR Srinivas alleged the school had assigned Quranic verses to a non-Muslim student and questioned whether this amounted to “backdoor conversion” of Hindu children, demanding a probe by the police commissioner and a statement from the state education department. Mahamandaleshwar Vishnu Das also alleged an attempt to convert Hindu children in Hyderabad.
On Thursday, July 16, police detained BJP leader Andela Sriramulu Yadav and other party workers who were protesting outside the school over the issue. Yadav questioned the school’s conduct, demanded that the institution be shut down and the principal removed, and went on to invoke the Pahalgam terror attack, in which tourists were gunned down, as a comparison to what was, at worst, a lapse in judgement by the school. He said the school runs five or six branches and demanded action against everyone involved.
Advocate and BJP leader Karuna Sagar was also detained after arriving at the school. He said he had come to question the police over the absence of an FIR in the matter and demanded the arrest of the principal, alleging students were being forced to read the Quran.
This post was last modified on July 16, 2026 4:48 pm