Teachers become first in Britain to face lifetime classroom ban for trying to impose too much Islam on education

From the Birmingham Mail and the Daventry Express

A panel has found former Park View Academy teachers Akeel Ahmed, 41, of Wolverhampton, and Inamulhaq Anwar, 34, of Bordesley Green, guilty of professional misconduct at a hearing of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL).

The pair both agreed with others to the “inclusion of an undue amount of religious influence in the education of the pupils” at Park View in Alum Rock before March 31 last year, ruled the panel.

Mr Anwar was also found guilty of the same allegation in relation to the education of pupils at Nansen Primary, where he was on the governing body. The school is sited opposite Park View and was run by the same academy chain Park View Educational Trust at the time.

In all, 13 former staff members including ex-headteachers at Park View Educational Trust (PVET) and Oldknow Academy have been facing misconduct hearings, as a result of scandal’s fallout.

But today’s determination by a National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) hearing panel is the first to present its conclusions.

The panel said it accepted “credible” written and oral evidence from a staff member – known as Witness A – who likened Mr Ahmed and Mr Anwar’s roles to that of “generals” in contributing to making sure pupils were “fed a diet of Islam” which had in turn “stifled their development as normal teenagers”.

The panel also found the men’s conduct tended to undermine tolerance and respect for the faith and belief of others. In coming to its decision, the panel found a number of individual allegations proven, on the balance of probabilities.

It found both Mr Ahmed and Mr Anwar “reformed the school curriculum to exclude proper teaching of sex and relationship education, use of contraception and safe sex”.

Mr Tweedle went on to say that “pupils’ development was being stifled and they were not being allowed to develop likes normal British teenagers”.

The panel concluded: “This omission meant the relevant boys were not being fully informed as to how to keep themselves safe (from STDs) and meant they were not being prepared for life in modern Britain.”

Mr Tweedle said both teachers had also failed to afford pupils the chance to “explore different cultures and form their own views”.

The panel also ruled Mr Ahmed had encouraged prayer during the school day, through posters, a call to prayer on the school’s loudspeaker system, and through direct reminders to teachers. He was also determined to have segregated boys from girls in lessons and assemblies.

…adding their behaviour made pupils, particularly girls, at risk of “being isolated” in an Islamic bubble “and not properly integrated” into British society.

An interim teaching ban currently imposed on both teachers will continue until education secretary Nicky Morgan reveals the sanction they face at a later date, which could be a lifetime ban.

Meanwhile, 11 other teachers from schools linked to the so-called Trojan Horse scandal still face allegations of professional misconduct.