Darul Uloom Islamic school in UK forces woman governor to sit in separate room

A Muslim school in the UK was found practising gender segregation after it forced a woman governor to sit in a separate room and talk through an open doorway during official meetings. 

Darul Uloom Islamic school in UK forces woman governor to sit in separate room

London: A Muslim school in the UK was found practising gender segregation after it forced a woman governor to sit in a separate room and talk through an open doorway during official meetings. 

The segregation was discovered by Britain's schools inspectorate during a visit to Darul Uloom Islamic high school in Birmingham

"During the inspection of Darul Uloom Islamic high school [in Birmingham], the actions of governors did not model the promotion of mutual respect for men and women," Michael Wilshaw, chief inspector of Ofsted - which is reviewing the standards at Britain's Christian and Muslim faith schools - wrote to UK education minister Nicky Morgan this week. 

"At a meeting with inspectors, the only female governor sat out of sight of the male governors in an adjacent room [and] could only contribute through a doorway," Michael wrote. 

Ofsted found another school's library contained literature with extremist and sexist views. 

The inspectors of Ofsted had revisited 22 schools previously inspected by Bridge Schools Inspectorate(BSI), an agency which was abolished two months ago. 

While one was rated outstanding and four were deemed good, eight required improvement and nine were found to be inadequate. 

Michael said the findings were seriously concerning, and urged the re-inspection of all schools previously monitored by the BSI, as a priority. 

The BSI has been accused of failing to identify "warning signs of extremism and radicalisation in school settings" by Ofsted. 

"All schools must promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for different faiths and beliefs," said a spokesperson of UK Department for Education. 

The investigations follow the "Trojan Horse" scandal which broke out earlier this year over fears of extremist groups taking over the agenda at schools in Birmingham.

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