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Aust'n government to revoke funding from leading Islamic school

Xinhua, February 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Australian government has announced that it will be revoking nearly 14 million U.S dollars in funding from a leading Islamic school in 2016, after the Education Department expressed concerns that the money wasn't being spent in the right ways.

On Tuesday, the federal government issued a notice to the Malek Fahd Islamic school in New South Wales indicating it would be withdrawing its contribution due to "non-compliance" with the nation's Education Act.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham on Tuesday said the decision was made after the school could not show authorities it had taken steps to improve its mismanaged financial department.

"I am committed to ensuring that all school authorities meet the requirements of the Education Act to ensure that our taxpayer dollar and any private investment by parents is being spent to benefit Australian students," he said in a statement.

"School governance should be of the highest standard and funding should be exclusively used for the education and welfare of students."

Birmingham said the school was initially put "on notice" last year, when the government discovered it was not complying with "fundamental governance, financial and accountability requirements".

The Malek Fahd school, which has an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, will have its funding revoked from April 8.

Concerned parents have contacted the Education Department in regards to the decision, but according to Birmingham, he has instructed parents to contact the school with their concerns.

The Malek Fahd school was one of six schools being investigated by the government, with funding for the Islamic College of Brisbane, the Islamic College of Melbourne, the Islamic College of South Australia, the Islamic School of Canberra, and Langford Islamic College in WA all under review. Endit