Muslim school to escape axe - but is told to improve

Published on Wednesday 28 September 2005 01:19

SCOTLAND'S only Muslim school has escaped the axe - but has been warned that it must continue to improve.

Peter Peacock, the education minister, announced yesterday that the Imam Muhammad Zakariya School in Dundee will stay open after he received assurances that steps were being taken to address major problems identified in a report by inspectors 18 months ago.

Among the failings identified by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMI) were that pupils had little contact with the outside world and were confined to the school and its grounds for up to two weeks at a time.

None of the teaching staff was qualified and the quality of learning was "insufficient in all classes", HMI said.

The all-girl school was warned it faced closure within six months, but was given a temporary reprieve after a follow-up report was published in May.

Mr Peacock said yesterday that he had now been given assurances that a new headteacher had introduced a series of improvements and that he had decided not to remove it from the Register of Independent Schools.

However, he said inspectors would return to the school in December to ensure it is continuing to improve.

He said: "While a number of improvements - notably in relation to the curriculum offered and qualifications of teaching staff - have been made, the progress has been limited. This is the start of the process - not the end.

"The school now has an experienced headteacher at the helm and I want these developments to be sustained and built on. I look forward to being kept informed of progress."