Headmaster Suspended for Leading Quran Recitation in Assam School Assembly, ETEducation

GUWAHATI: Two teachers in lower Assam’s Bongaigaon district were suspended after it was found that students at their govt school were reciting the Fatiha (first chapter of the Quran) every day during the morning assembly.

The video that created controversy went viral on Friday, when Independence Day was being celebrated.

The headteacher of the school, Jeherul Islam, and the CRCC (cluster resource centre coordinator) for the school, Nirmal Kumar Choudhury, have been suspended, officials said on Sunday.

As per the govt-recommended list, no religious verse can be chanted in the state’s govt schools during assembly, officials said.

According to initial reports, the students of the No. 619 Pacchim Bhadragaon Lower Primary School recited Surah Fatiha instead of the national anthem on Independence Day. However, district authorities and education department conducted a verification at the school campus, and it was revealed that the incident took place on Aug 8.

“It was only on Aug 15 that a teacher, who was transferred from that school recently, circulated the video showing school children reciting the Fatiha. Reciting any such religious verse is not allowed at govt schools. That is why two teachers were suspended on Saturday,” Bongaigaon district elementary education officer Pallabi Medhi said.

The school is located in a Muslim-majority area in Bongaigaon, and most of the students are from the minority community.

Sources said although Choudhury was not directly involved in the incident, the headteacher was blamed by educational department officials for the misconduct.

“Fatiha was being recited by the students for a long time in the middle of the morning assembly,” an education department official said.

The teacher admitted to sharing the video without considering the repercussions. “She recorded the video before she was transferred, but it went viral after she was released,” the official said.