Parents in protest over Muslim school funding
PARENTS from a privately-run Muslim school have held a protest after ministers rejected their bid for state funding.
Families and pupils from the Al-Qalam school in Glasgow marched to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s constituency office in the city to complain about the decision.
The fee-paying school submitted a proposal to Ms Sturgeon in December 2015 seeking to expand into secondary education with the help of public funding.
Under the plans, the 60-pupil school on the South Side of the city would have been funded by the state, but run by an independent board of governors outside council control.
However, last week Education Secretary John Swinney rejected the plan alongside another similar bid by a Catholic Primary in Milngavie.
Shoeb Sarguroh, curriculum leader at the Al-Qalam school, has now written to Ms Sturgeon to express his “shock and disbelief”.
He said: “We find the letter sent out to us by a civil servant disgraceful and demoralising.
“It was insulting enough that Mr Swinney made no attempt to call, meet or visit us even once in two years since he had our proposals. There is no courtesy.”
Mr Sarguroh said parents felt “discriminated” against after working hard to establish the school over the past seven years.
He added: “Having demonstrated that we can run an innovative school and enhance the curriculum the least we expected was an acknowledgement of parental involvement at its best.
“On the contrary, your Education Secretary mowed down years of our efforts in one single letter. This is unacceptable.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the application was considered on its merits, but did not fit in with wider aspirations for the education system.
Under the proposals, councils will still have a role in education, but their influence over improvement has been greatly reduced with power handed to individual headteachers.
The spokeswoman said: “The reforms will significantly increase the autonomy of schools, the role of parents in school life and ensure our schools are rooted in their communities.
“Crucially, these reforms will deliver this within a clear national and local framework of policy and support.
“The specific proposals from Al-Qalam sought full public funding for an independent school that would operate without that crucial support structure.”