School principal suspended over video of ‘students offering namaz’

A video surfaced on social media, purportedly showing some students offering namaz in the “prayer area” at the government primary school on Napier Road in Lucknow’s Thakurganj area.

Written by Asad Rehman

Lucknow | Updated: October 22, 2023 06:52 AM IST

2 min read

An official letter, issued by Lucknow Basic Shiksha Adhikari Arun Kumar, said headmistress Meera Yadav was suspended while departmental action would be taken against two teachers - Mamta Mishra and Tehzeeb Fatima.

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The headmistress of a government school was suspended and departmental action was ordered against two teachers on Saturday after some Hindu outfit leaders protested at the school over students offering namaz inside the “prayer area” of the school.

A video surfaced on social media, purportedly showing some students offering namaz in the “prayer area” at the government primary school on Napier Road in Lucknow’s Thakurganj area.

Hindu outfit leaders allegedly created a ruckus at the school Saturday and argued with the headmistress. The majority of students at the school at the primary government school for Classes 1-5 belong to the Muslim community, said officials.

Arun Kumar told The Indian Express, “Some seven-eight students were doing some activities that shouldn’t have happened on the school premises. It was found that namaz was being offered for a while at the school. We have suspended headmistress (in charge) Meera Yadav in connection with the issue,” he said. Kumar said that the education department took cognizance of the videos.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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