THE Minister for Education Simon Birmingham says the operators of six non-government schools, including the Islamic School of Canberra, have been issued with notifications of not complying with financial management and governance requirements of the Australian Education Act 2013.
“The formal notifications followed the Department of Education and Training’s review that had identified concerns over the governance, financial and accountability arrangements of the schools,” Simon said.
“In May this year my Department initiated a formal review into the six school authorities following ongoing concerns about their financial management and governance arrangements.
“I am committed to ensuring that all school authorities meet the requirements of the Education Act to ensure that our taxpayer dollar and any private investment by parents is being spent as intended to benefit Australian students.”
Senator Birmingham said the six schools were all affiliated with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC).
“My focus is always that we, as the taxpayer, get maximum bang for our buck to improve education outcomes for Australian children.
“School governance should be of the highest standard and funding should be used for the benefits of students.
“This action does not come lightly. All schools must have effective management and accountability arrangements in place to support the best possible education outcomes for their students.”
Senator Birmingham said legislation requires all school authorities to operate not-for-profit, be a ‘fit and proper person’ and ensure that funding provided is used only for school education.
A formal process is now in place with respect to these six schools and each school authority has 28 days to respond to the notices, and demonstrate how they will comply with the requirements of the Act.
Penalties for the non-compliance could include the removal of Commonwealth funding for the six schools.
The post Islamic School of Canberra finds its Commonwealth funding at risk appeared first on Canberra CityNews.