Malek Fahd Islamic School

Last updated

Malek Fahd Islamic School
Malek Fahd Islamic School logo.png
Chullora Greenacre Mosque.JPG
A minaret and mosque located at Malek Fahd Islamic School
Location
Malek Fahd Islamic School
405 Waterloo Road, Greenacre,
Sydney, New South Wales

Australia
Coordinates 33°53′29″S151°03′39″E / 33.891442°S 151.060901°E / -33.891442; 151.060901 Coordinates: 33°53′29″S151°03′39″E / 33.891442°S 151.060901°E / -33.891442; 151.060901
Information
Type Independent co-educational primary and secondary day school
MottoKnowledge is Light, Work is Worship
Denomination Islamic
Established1989;34 years ago (1989)
Educational authority NSW Department of Education
Oversight Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (1989-2016) [1]
Staff175
Teaching staff151
Years K-12
Age5to 18
Enrolment2,440 (2013 [2] )
Campuses
Colour(s)Green, yellow and white    
Website mfis.nsw.edu.au
Malek Fahd Islamic School

Malek Fahd Islamic School (abbreviated as MFIS) is a multi-campus independent Islamic co-educational primary and secondary day school, with its main campus located in the south-western Sydney suburb of Greenacre with smaller campuses in Hoxton Park and Beaumont Hills, New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

After Al-Faisal College, Malek Fahd Islamic School is the second largest Islamic school in Australia, [3] that caters for 2,444 students from Year K to Year 12 across three campuses. [2] All MFIS students (and 80% of the staff) are Muslim. [2]

History

Malek (King) Fahd Islamic School was opened in October 1989 with one campus in Greenacre. The purchase of the land for the school was secured through a $12 million gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. [4] The school started with 87 students from kindergarten to year 3 but has grown to over 2,000 students in 2013. [5]

In 2007 the school made its debut when it came 9th in the state's HSC ranking. [6]

In April 2011 the school established two campuses in Hoxton Park and Beaumont Hills, both catering for students in early primary school.

In June 2013 the School Board, chaired by Tom Alegounarias, appointed the school's first Christian headmaster, Ray Barrett. [7]

By 2016 the school's state ranking for the HSC had dropped to 76th. [8]

Campuses

Greenacre campus Malek Fahd Islamic School.jpg
Greenacre campus

The school's main campus in Greenacre includes 1070 students in the primary school (Kindergarten to Year 6) and 990 students in the secondary school (Years 7 to 12). [2] Students in the main campus originate mainly from the local Bankstown area, Lakemba, Auburn and Guildford.[ citation needed ]

The Hoxton Park campus opened in April 2011 for 78 students in Kindergarten and Years 1 and 2 as well as 4 staff. [9] In 2013 the campus has 87 students enrolled from Kindergarten to Year 4. [10] [2] The campus has a modern two-story building which caters for students from Hoxton Park, Liverpool, Lurnea, Hinchinbrook and Prestons.

The school also operates a campus in Beaumont Hills, opened in April 2011, for children in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. [11] [2] The campus initially started with 31 students [9] but has increased in size with over 200 students in 2012 from Kindergarten to Year 6. [2] In 2014 the school expanded to include Year 7. [2] The campus draws students from Beaumont Hills, Kellyville, Castle Hill, The Ponds, Blacktown, Seven Hills, Rooty Hill and Mount Druitt.

Curriculum

Malek Fahd Islamic School teaches according to the NSW Board of Studies mandated syllabuses. However all students are required to study the Religious Education syllabus throughout their schooling. The school also teaches Arabic throughout schooling. [5] Arabic is also offered as a subject for students completing the Higher School Certificate in Year 11 and 12. [5] In 2013 NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli expressed grave concern at the school's HSC curriculum. [12]

The school also offers a number of sporting and extra curricular activities including with other schools and local organisations. [5]

Controversies

2008 Malek Fahd Islamic School was criticised for not allowing under performing students to sit the Higher School Certificate (HSC), resulting in unfairly high HSC results reported for the school. The school denied distorting exam results. After it came to light that poorer performing students from the school were compelled to enrol in TAFE so that their marks would not "drag down" the school's overall performance, Intaj Ali withdrew his students from TAFE and claimed that it had actually been part of the school's extra-curricular activities that the students enrolled at TAFE. But a former HSC co-ordinator at Bankstown TAFE registered that the parents of students were dismayed by having to pay fees to both the school and then more fees at TAFE. Intaj Ali also claimed that the school had increased the range of HSC subjects it offered. [13] Howevever, the subject offerings at the school remained limited and continued to disadvantage students who would excel in the social, rather than natural, sciences.[ citation needed ]

In spite of denials by the school the case of Afyouni in 2011 demonstrated that the school was still manipulating its ranking by outsourcing the poorer performing students to TAFE even after it had been exposed for the first time in 2008. [14]

In 2010 the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils received $5.2 million from Malek Fahd Islamic School which is approximately one third of the money received from the federal and state governments. [15] In 2012 the NSW government demanded the repayment of $9 million passed from Malek Fahd Islamic School to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. [16] [17]

In November 2013 the school faced closure due to problems associated with its attendance-approvals, its HSC curriculum, educational quality, safe environment and its buildings. [3] [16] In December 2013 the school won a reprieve, [7] with the NSW Board of Studies agreeing to a further year of registration. [18] Three years later, in 2011, the school expelled a student because his academic performance was "deemed insufficient". It was reported in 2015 that the school commenced legal proceedings for unpaid tuition fees against the student's parents. The amount outstanding was reported to be less than A$500. [19]

In November 2015 the school sought an injunction in the NSW Supreme Court to remove the governance of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. [20] [21] In March 2016, the school cut ties to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. [1] In September 2016, initiated civil proceedings against the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils in the Supreme Court of New South Wales for damages as the result of a breach of fiduciary duty and for above-market rents. [22] [23]

Federal funding

In February 2016, the Commonwealth Government revoked $19 million in federal funding to the school. The decision was made after an investigation found that the school had been operating for profit and that there were ongoing governance concerns. [24] It was reported that the "feud" between the school board and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils had escalated to the point where security was required at the school for "fear it could escalate into violence". [25] [26] The federal government investigation revealed phantom loan, mystery payments and undeclared conflicts of interest were identified by a federal government investigation. [27] On 3 April 2016, following a request by the school, an internal review conducted by the Federal Department of Education upheld the initial decision to revoke funding. [28]

An appeal by the school to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was dismissed on 23 December 2016, with the tribunal upholding the Federal Government's decision to revoke funding. The school published a statement indicating that they would appeal to the Federal Court of Australia. [29] [30]

An appeal of the Administrative Appeal Tribunal's decision to uphold the Federal Government's revocation of funding was dismissed by the full bench of the Federal Court of Australia on 20 March 2018. [31] A lawyer representing the school at the Federal Court criticised the financial interactions between the school and the Federation of Islamic Councils, saying there had been, "a toxic combination of directors common to the board of AFIC and the school". [32] The school's legal team indicated that they would consider an appeal to the High Court of Australia. The school will continue to operate during the appeal process. [33]

On 15 June 2020, the school was ordered by the government to repay $11 million after falsely claiming to be not-for-profit to receive government funding, as they were in-fact operating for-profit. This was on top of a $4 million debt it is already paying off after the school was found to be in breach of the same policy from 2010 to 2012. [34]

Skaf gang rape psychologist

In July 2019, it was revealed that Joanna Natalie Senior, a former prison psychologist who was fired for having a relationship with a Skaf gang rapist, and who married another member of the notorious child rape gang (led by Bilal Skaf), [35] [36] was working with children as a school counsellor at Malek Fahd. [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Sydney gang rapes were a series of gang rape attacks committed by a group of up to 14 youths led by Bilal Skaf against Australian women and teenage girls, as young as 14, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia across several days in 2000. The crimes, described as ethnically motivated hate crimes by officials and commentators, were covered extensively by the news media, and prompted the passing of new laws. In 2002, the nine men convicted of the gang rapes were sentenced to a total of more than 240 years in jail. According to court transcripts, Judge Michael Finnane described the rapes as events that "you hear about or read about only in the context of wartime atrocities".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sydney University</span> University in Sydney, Australia

Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network university with an amalgamation between the Nepean College of Advanced Education and the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. The Macarthur Institute of Higher Education was incorporated in the university in 1989. In 2001, the University of Western Sydney was restructured as a single multi-campus university rather than as a federation. In 2015, the university underwent a rebranding which resulted in a change in name from the University of Western Sydney to Western Sydney University. It is a provider of undergraduate, postgraduate, and higher research degrees with campuses in Bankstown, Blacktown, Campbelltown, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, and Penrith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilal Skaf</span> Lebanese Australian serial gang rapist (born 1981)

Bilal Skaf is a serial gang rapist who led groups of Lebanese-Australian men to commit gang rape attacks against women and girls in Sydney in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sydney Boys High School</span> School in Australia

North Sydney Boys High School is a government-funded, single-sex, academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 2022, North Sydney Boys High School ranked as the second high school in the state, based on the percentage of exams sat that achieved a Distinguished Achievers (DA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyndham College</span> School in Nirimba Fields, New South Wales, Australia

Wyndham College is a public senior secondary school located at Nirimba Fields, New South Wales, Australia.

TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory body under the TAFE Commission Act 1990. The Minister for Regional Development, Skills and Small Business is responsible for TAFE NSW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenacre, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Greenacre is suburb in South-western Sydney, located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Most of Greenacre is in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, while a part in the east is in the Municipality of Strathfield.

The Masada College is an independent Jewish co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in St Ives, on the upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Masada College is Australia’s first Jewish international co-educational school. Enrollment is also open to non-Jewish students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus</span> School in Australia

The Blackwattle Bay Campus of the Sydney Secondary College is a government-funded co-educational dual modality comprehensive senior secondary day school, located in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Glebe, New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia.

Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) were a class of Australian senior secondary school funded by the Australian federal government between 2005 and 2009. The Australian Technical College program ceased on 31 December 2009. All 24 ATCs were integrated into existing education and training systems, with some continuing as stand-alone independent schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire Christian School</span> School in Australia

Shire Christian School is an independent non-denominational Christian co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in Barden Ridge, a suburb in the Sutherland Shire area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school was founded as Sutherland Shire Christian School in 1977 by a group of local parents who felt a calling to provide their children with an environment in which to gain an education taught from a Christian perspective. They believed that these features were not to be seen in a public state school; because of this the school upholds a strong Christian ethos that influences most parts of school life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Grammar School</span> School in Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia

International Grammar School (IGS) is a dual campus independent secular coeducational early learning, primary, and secondary day school, located in Ultimo, an inner city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Federation of Islamic Councils</span>

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), founded in 1964 as Australian Federation of Islamic Societies (AFIS) and also known as Muslims Australia, is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation to represent Sunni Muslims across Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manly Selective Campus</span> School in Australia

The Manly Selective Campus of the Northern Beaches Secondary College is a government-funded co-educational academically selective secondary day school, located in North Curl Curl, a suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Bradfield Senior College is a government-funded co-educational specialist senior secondary and vocational day school specialising in the creative industries, located on the Pacific Highway, St Leonards, New South Wales, in the lower north shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Marys Senior High School</span> School in Australia

St Marys Senior High School is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive post-compulsory secondary day school, located in St Marys, a suburb in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dapto High School</span> School in Australia

Dapto High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Dapto, a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Faisal College</span> School in Australia

Al-Faisal College is currently the largest Islamic school in Australia with 2800 students. It is also a dual-campus independent Islamic co-educational primary and secondary day school, with campuses in Auburn and Campbelltown, both suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Operated by Al-Faisal College Ltd, the college was established in 1998 at the Auburn campus, later expanded to the Campbelltown campus in 2013 and Liverpool campus in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cammeraygal High School</span> School in Australia

Cammeraygal High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on the Pacific Highway, Crows Nest, a suburb on the lower north shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Sally Dowling is an Australian lawyer who has been Director of Public Prosecutions for New South Wales since August 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Booth, Meredith (10 March 2016). "Schools cut ties to Federation of Islamic Councils". The Australian . Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Malek Fahd Islamic School (2013). School Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Sydney: Malek Fahd Islamic School. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 Barrett, Rebecca; Branley, Alison (1 November 2013). "NSW school inspectors recommend closure of Australia's largest Muslim school". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Burke, Kelly (16 March 2004). "And the winner is: how private schools get paid". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Malek Fahd Secondary School". Malek Fahd Islamic School. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Patty, Anna. "Islamic school's debut in HSC top 10". Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. 1 2 Tovey, Josephine (11 December 2013). "Malek Fahd Islamic School wins reprieve". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "2016 Annual School Report" (PDF). Malek Fahd Islamic School.
  9. 1 2 Malek Fahd Islamic School (2011). School Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Sydney: Malek Fahd Islamic School. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Malek Fahd Hoxton Park Campus". Malek Fahd Islamic School. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Malek Fahd Beaumont Hills Campus". Malek Fahd Islamic School. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Barrett, Rebecca. "NSW school inspectors recommend closure of Australia's largest Muslim school". ABC News.
  13. ↑ "School denies distorting its exam results". Sydney Morning Herald . 6 December 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Branley, Alison. "Malek Fahd Islamic College takes parents to court over $490 in fees four years after expelling student". ABC News . Australia.
  15. ↑ "Malek Fahd Islamic School 'fees' funding Australian Federation of Islamic Councils". The Australian . 22 August 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 Bodkin, Peter (12 December 2013). "Greenacre's Malek Fahd Islamic School facing new showdown over excessive student numbers". Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Ihram, Silma (12 August 2012). "AFIC, Islamic Schools and ethics". Muslim Village. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Tovey, Josephine (19 December 2013). "School's not out: Malek Fahd Islamic School survives as the HSC results arrive". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Branley, Alison (1 June 2015). "Malek Fahd Islamic College takes parents to court over $490 in fees four years after expelling student". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Shanahan, Leo (30 October 2015). "Largest Muslim school Malek Fahd locks out chairman". The Australian . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Hall, Louise (3 November 2015). "Malek Fahd Islamic School crisis deepens as legal action launched". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Munro, Kelsey (5 January 2017). "Malek Fahd Islamic school future in doubt after tribunal decision to cut federal government funding". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  23. ↑ Mitchell, Georgina (8 November 2017). "Malek Fahd Islamic School paid 'extortionate' rent to its founder, court hears". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  24. ↑ Bagshaw, Eryk (9 February 2016). "Commonwealth axes government funding to Islamic school Malek Fahd". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  25. ↑ Benson, Simon (9 February 2016). "Malek Fahd Islamic school: Government axes all Commonwealth funding". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  26. ↑ Shanahan, Leo (9 February 2016). "Islamic school Malek Fahd has $15m in funding taken away". The Australian . Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Safi, Michael (24 February 2016). "Malek Fahd school accused of unexplained payments to Islamic body and staff". The Guardian. Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  28. ↑ Department of Education (20 March 2018). "Federal Court upholds decision to revoke funding from Malek Fahd Islamic School" (Press release). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  29. ↑ Kimmorley, Sarah (6 January 2017). "Australia's largest Islamic school may be forced to close after losing $19 million in government funding". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  30. ↑ Bagshaw, Eryk (4 April 2016). "Malek Fahd loses appeal to have funding returned". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  31. ↑ "Future uncertain for Australia's largest Islamic school after court ruling". SBS News. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  32. ↑ "AFIC used Malek Fahd Islamic School as a funding 'milk cow'". 18 May 2017.
  33. ↑ Kozaki, Danuta (21 March 2018). "Australia's largest Islamic school could close after court ruling". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  34. ↑ "Malek Fahd Islamic School ordered to repay $11m". The Daily Telegraph. (subscription required)
  35. ↑ Olding, Rachel (19 February 2017). "Parole law flaw: struck-off prison psychologist's secret marriage to Skaf gang rapist". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  36. ↑ "A Current Affair's Taylor Auerbach tracks down a psychologist who became involved with a Skaf gang rapist in a NSW prison". The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  37. ↑ [Rolfe, John (15 June 2020). "Malek Fahd Islamic School told to repay $11 million by NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell (includes graph which states that the skaf gang psychologist Joanna Natalie Senior was hired at Malek Fahd)" . Retrieved 22 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.