- Balwant Bains says he had to leave Saltley School because of harassment
- School was later was put in special measures over 'Trojan Horse' scandal
- Sikh Mr Bains claims Muslim governors had plotted to force him out
- 'I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society,' he said
- Former chair of governors denies claims there was any 'agenda' at school
Conspiracy: Balwant Bains says he was forced out from his school because he wanted to instil British values in students
A Sikh headteacher who ran a school at the centre of an alleged 'Trojan Horse' plot said today he was forced out because he was 'giving children British values'.
Balwant Bains claims he had to leave Saltley School in Birmingham after suffering a campaign of 'emotional harassment' spearheaded by Muslim governors.
Mr Bains, who was put on gardening leave and then decided to quit, opposed plans by Muslim governors to scrap sex education lessons and introduce only Halal meat, from animals killed in line with the Koran's teachings, for school meals.
The headteacher, which helped his school get record GCSE results in 2013, says he was accused of Islamophobia and racism after he tried to discipline a Muslim pupil who threatened other students with a knife.
Speaking for the first time about his treatment Mr Bains said: 'I suppose I was a threat, giving these children more British values, for them to be integrated into society.
'It made me value education more, and because it is free in this country. I lifted myself out of poverty because of education. If I could do it, if I could break the cycle, other children could, too.'
He told the New York Times that if nothing changes after the Trojan Horse scandal 'then it means anyone can just go in and destroy a school and get away with it.'
Mr Bains claims the chair of governors tried to undermine him after they fell out over the running of the school.
He claims every day for three months he had to justify his decisions, including mundane queries about why students had to walk on the right hand side of corridors and not the left.
He then put together a 300-page document explaining all other decisions, including his assembly messages and work on the school website.
Problems heightened when he expelled a Muslim boy for threatening other children with a knife.
But governors then reinstated the boy against the wishes of the head and Birmingham City Council.
He then did not suspend a white student over a weapon, and then a campaign calling for protests against his management was launched, where he was called 'racist' and Islamophobic.
A text, announcing a demonstration outside the school was sread around the local mosque and said: 'Racist headteacher! Racist white staff! He suspends Muslim pupils and doesn't suspend non-Muslims. He suspends not-guilty Muslim teachers and doesn't suspend guilty non-Muslim teachers.
'Are you going to let this racist Islamaphobic (sic) headteacher, Balwant Bains, get away with it? If you believe in justice and that everyone should be treated equally, join the demonstration.'
A few weeks after the demonstration in October last year, Mr Bains, of Sikh origin, was sent on 'gardening leave'.
Five non-Muslim governors at Saltley then resigned, leaving 12 of the 14 governors Muslim.
Governors asked the local council to investigate him. Eventually he reluctantly agreed to leave the school.
Soon after, a Muslim teacher was put in his place, who Mr Bains described as ‘the man they wanted two years ago’.
A report by Ofsted into the crisis at the school and the attitude of the head concluded that Mr Bains had a 'dysfunctional' relationship with the governors.
Dr Mohammed Khan, who was chair of governors at the school until he resigned, said there was 'no conspiracy' to force out the headteacher.
He said: 'We interviewed a number of candidates for the headteacher's job and the panel, which was mainly Muslim, appointed him over other people. If there was an agenda that wouldn't have happened'.
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