Mumbai school principal who was asked to resign for pro-Palestine stance gets support from parents
Mumbai school principal who was asked to resign for pro-Palestine stance gets support from parents
Mumbai: Five days after Parveen Shaikh, the principal of Somaiya School in Vidyavihar was asked to resign after a Hindutva website published an article on her pro-Palestine and anti-Modi views, a section of parents have come out in support of Shaikh and urged the school management to reinstate her. The article accused Shaikh of liking and commenting on pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas, anti-Hindu and anti-Modi posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Shaikh, who has been the principal of the school for seven years, said, “The management has, subsequent to the publication of the article in a news portal, conveyed to me that this relationship is not tenable and asked me to resign.” She further added, “I am not planning to resign as I have done nothing wrong.”
Shaikh said, “The article was published on April 25, and on April 26, the management scheduled a meeting to discuss the allegations made in the article. My hard work and contribution to shaping the Somaiya School were acknowledged. However, they said they were under immense pressure to take action against me. The meeting concluded with the management asking for my resignation.”
Pointing out Sheikh’s contribution to the school, Vidya Nair, a parent of a grade 9 student, said, “She is a great educator and a progressive woman. She is a role model for my daughter. We don’t want to lose her leadership for the betterment of our children. We had a meeting with the management and put our side in front of them. We are hopeful for the best.”
Shilpa Phadke, one of the parents who is supporting Parveen Shaikh said, “She has been an outstanding principal and an exceptional educator, a progressive woman, and a compassionate educator and well respected and trusted by students.”
Phadke also listed a few progressive measures introduced by Sheikh. “Under her leadership, the school introduced a gender-neutral uniform policy. We found the principal and the management both to be excellent. It has been a wonderful professional partnership between the principal, the teachers and the management and we hope to see it continue,” Phadke added.
After the article on Shaikh was published, Somaiya Trust issued a statement on X that read, “We were unaware of the sentiments expressed until it was brought to our notice. We do not agree with such sentiments. It is certainly concerning. We are looking into the matter.”
Meanwhile, Shaikh, firm on her stand, said “The news portal that published the article about me is known for its bias against the secular constitutional ethos, as well as the Palestinian cause. Its followers, who have trolled me, would share the same bias.”
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