A teacher from the Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire received a suspension after showing pupils offensive images recently.
According to media reports, the teacher depicted caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad during a religious session at the school. The incident sparked great outrage and fury amongst the Muslim community. Moreover, dozens of Muslim parents whose kids went to the school, lined up outside the school’s premises to protest against the highly offensive actions.
On that note, the school’s head reportedly apologized over the shocking incident while police officials rushed to the scene to calm the enraged crowds down.
Meanwhile, the school delayed its opening while urging students to stay at home amid the violent and chaotic scenes.
Headteacher Gary Kibble was quick to respond to the incident, upon which he quickly suspended the teacher involved while promising to carry out a fast and thorough investigation over the inappropriate lesson.
Some parents reached the school’s premises in West Yorkshire as early as 7:30 am, where they were heard chanting loud slogans, alongside 30 students milling around nearby.
The school is actually one of the oldest, founded in the year 1612 by a reverend. Moreover, reports showed how minority ethnic groups make up around three-quarters of the students.
The loud crowd of demonstrators remained on the premises till the afternoon. Local media outlets suggested how police started threatening the protesters to move as they were breaking COVID rules and regulations since a whole road was shut down, from both directions, due to the incident.
The latest syllabus for areas like Kirkness, Leeds, and Calderdale showed how pupils should be able to explain why the visual representation of God and Prophets is forbidden in the religion of Islam. However, it never mentioned whether or not teachers should show these images or specifically state which teacher should.
Mr. Kibble who is the school’s head, sent out a letter to parents, condemning the actions of that specific teacher, calling the incident highly inappropriate by all means, with regards to highlighting the concern of parents involved.