London, Dec 8 (IANS): A Sikh teacher has claimed that he was forced out of a school in Britain for "giving children British values", a media report said Monday.

Balwant Bains, who ran Saltley School in Birmingham which is at the centre of an alleged plot by extremists to impose an "intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos" on pupils, decided to quit after opposing plans by Muslim governors, Mail Online reported.

"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," Bains was quoted as saying.

He said he opposed the plans to scrap sex education lessons and introduce only halal meat, from animals killed in line with the Koran's teachings, for school meals.

The head teacher was also accused of Islamophobia and racism after he tried to discipline a Muslim pupil who threatened other students with a knife.

Earlier in July, an official probe into the allegations that Islamist extremists were trying to infiltrate a number of Birmingham schools showed "disturbing" evidence of attempts to introduce "intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos", according to Britain's department for education.