Sambhal School Row: Teacher, Headmistress Suspended After Objection to Quranic Verse
Hindu groups protest religious display in government school; education department orders inquiry and suspends staff.
A controversy has broken out in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh after Hindu organisations objected to a framed Quranic verse displayed at a government primary school in Nagla Purva village.
The issue surfaced after members of Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad reached the school, located under the Kurh Fatehgarh police station area, and protested the presence of the verse above a classroom gate. The groups argued that religious symbols should not be displayed in government-run educational institutions and demanded immediate action against the school staff.
The protesters accused assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim of teaching Islamic lessons to students. However, the teacher strongly denied the allegation, saying he strictly follows the government-prescribed syllabus.
“I am a government teacher and have never taught religion to any student. These allegations are completely false,” Nazim said while speaking to reporters. Several local villagers also supported him, stating that no such complaints had ever been raised earlier.
Videos from the incident, now circulating on social media, show activists entering classrooms, questioning teachers, checking blackboards and books, and moving around the school premises in what many described as an unofficial inspection.
The protesting groups also claimed that posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Goddess Saraswati had been removed from the school. School authorities denied these claims.
Following a written complaint submitted in the presence of the police, the framed Quranic verse was removed from the school premises. Soon after, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Alka Sharma suspended both the headmistress, Pushpa Jatav, and assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim. She said the suspension was a precautionary step and that a detailed inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
“The issue goes against school norms, and action has been taken while the investigation is underway,” Sharma stated.
However, the swift suspensions have drawn criticism from education activists and community members. Many questioned why disciplinary action was taken even before the inquiry was completed. One activist said that yielding to pressure from protests without proper investigation could set a worrying precedent. A local resident remarked that the teacher appeared to be targeted because of his religious identity.
The incident has revived memories of a similar case in Mathura in 2023, where a Muslim headmaster was suspended after allegations of religious coercion. He was later cleared and reinstated following an inquiry and support from villagers.
Members of the Muslim community in Sambhal have expressed concern over what they describe as selective scrutiny, asking why similar standards are not applied uniformly to all religious symbols in public institutions.
As the official investigation continues, the case has sparked a broader debate on administrative independence, equal enforcement of rules, and the growing impact of communal pressure on teachers and schools.
