Probe into city Islamic school trust over accounts

THE education trust running a school for girls in Saltley is under investigation by the Charity Commission.

A statutory inquiry has been opened into the Birmingham Education Trust, based at the Al-Huda Girls’ School, because it has failed to file accounts and annual returns for five years.

The charity funds and operates a secondary school for around 45 girls which promotes the teaching of Islam.

In March 2019, the Charity Commission opened a compliance case into the trust to examine ‘‘repeated failure to comply with its statutory duty to file its accounts and annual returns’’.

Wider concerns were then found, including that the charity was operating in breach of its governing document in having only two trustees who were husband and wife, causing concerns about “potential unmanaged conflicts of interest”, the charity commission said. An action plan was issued to address the concerns, but the trustees have failed to demonstrate progress and the case has been escalated to a statutory inquiry, which opened on July 21, the watchdog said.

The new inquiry will investigate to see if the charity has been operating for exclusively charitable purposes; if the financial controls of the charity are adequate and their funds can be accounted for, and if potential conflicts of interest and connected party transactions have been properly managed.

The most recent Ofsted report, published in November last year following an emergency inspection, confirmed the school was meeting independent standards. It has been rated ‘Good’. The report lists Asif Jawaid as proprietor and Sumeya Jawaid as head teacher.

A report into the outcome of the inquiry will be published when investigations conclude. The Birmingham Post attempted to contact the trust and school for comment.