Muslim school allowed to open one more yearhttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/muslim-school-allowed-to...AUSTRALIA'S largest Muslim school has been given a reprieve by the NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli and will remain open for at least one more year.
The NSW Board of Studies last month recommended Malek Fahd at Greenacre in Sydney's west have its accreditation for next year disallowed after ongoing concerns about financial mismanagement and other practices.
The Australian has revealed concerns about the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, which managed the school, wrongly charging Malek Fahd millions in "management fees" and backdated rent. The chairman of the board of directors of Malek Fahd, Ikebal Patel, was also president of the AFIC at the time the payments were made.
Malek Fahd received just under $20 million, or 80 per cent of its funding, from the commonwealth and state governments.
Mr Piccoli froze the school's funding and forced it to repay $9m in state funds.
The investigations have led to the resignation of Mr Patel as president of AFIC and as school board chairman. Probes by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the NSW police have been launched into the school's finances.
Despite the Board of Studies finding, Mr Piccoli decided yesterday to maintain the school's accreditation even though there were serious concerns about how the school was being run.
"While progress has been made in relation to the areas of the school's noncompliance with the Education Act, the board continues to have concerns about the school's compliance with the requirements for registration and accreditation," the board said in a statement. "Accordingly, the school's period of registration and accreditation has been extended until 31 December, 2014, during which time the school is required to address the board's concerns."
Five Muslim schools in Sydney have now had funding frozen or been subject to financial audits after concerns were raised about their financial management.
In October, Bellfield College in south-west Sydney was subject to an audit by federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne, after The Australian revealed a police complaint had been made by the school's former principal over the whereabouts of $2.2m in government funding he claims never reached the school.
Some older stories - The Australian is claiming credit for exposing the rorts:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/malek-fahd-islam...Following an audit ordered by the federal government after reports in The Australian raised concerns about the school's financial relationship with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Malek Fahd has been told to repay funding given to the school by NSW since 2010 and remains ineligible for state government funds.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/ofarrell-government-free...http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/red-flag-on-fift...