The UK will send hit squads of inspectors into dozens of State schools in cities like Birmingham where conservative Islamic practices are allegedly damaging children’s education.
According to The Sunday Times, education secretary Michael Gove wants inspectors to fail schools where “religious conservatism is getting in the way of learning and a balanced curriculum”. This would mean that governing bodies and head teachers of schools judged inadequate on such grounds can be replaced.
The move is primarily focused on Birmingham, UK’s second biggest city, where claims that secular schools have been taken over by Islamic hardliners are already being investigated, the newspaper claims. Similar allegations have now emerged in other Northern England cities like Bradford and Manchester. Fifteen schools in Birmingham have been inspected this month by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, at the request of the Department for Education (DfE).