A Class 2 homework assignment has snowballed into a controversy at a private school in Hyderabad’s Saidabad after the parents of a Hindu student alleged that their child was asked to memorise and recite the Kalma, prompting protests outside the institution and police detention of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Thursday (July 16, 2026).

The issue came to light after the child’s parents allegedly found that a teacher had asked the student to learn the Kalma, believed to be the basic belief of Islam, as part of homework. The family, shocked by the assignment, approached the management seeking an explanation and later alleged that the child had been given a similar task earlier as well.

The parents questioned why a student belonging to another faith was being asked to memorise religious content as schoolwork and demanded action against the school management.

With the controversy escalating, Success, the School in Saidabad, terminated teacher Shaik Aisha Parveen for allegedly assigning religious homework to Class 2 students. In the termination letter, dated July 15, the school also stated that she was ‘permanently disqualified’ from applying for employment in future in any of the Success Group of Education Institutions.

The development led to protests by BJP workers outside the school. Police detained several protesters, including BJP leader and advocate Karuna Sagar, who questioned why an FIR had not been registered.

“I have come here to question the police as to why no FIR has been registered. My demand is to arrest the principal who is forcing innocent students to read the Quran,” he said.

However, in a letter to the school management, the student’s parents said they accepted the action taken in the matter and also accepted the apology tendered by the teacher. The family said it expected the management’s full cooperation in the issue.

Published – July 16, 2026 05:08 pm IST