Congrats to the Sydney Morning Herald for resisting the urge to turn this story into another Muslim-bashing exercise.
The Herald reports today of a Sydney private school which is fobbing off its weaker students to the publicly-finded TAFE system ...
Private school sends strugglers to TAFE
Anna Patty Education Editor
June 7, 2008
YEAR 12 students at a private school in Sydney are forced to complete HSC subjects at TAFE if it appears they will not score high marks.
Malek Fahd Islamic School, in Greenacre, joined the top 10 HSC performers in the Herald's league table for the first time last year, ranking ninth - a jump from 15th position the previous year.
Malek Fahd students, who pay fees to attend the school, make up close to half the free HSC chemistry class at Bankstown TAFE this year.
Ken Enderby, who co-ordinates the Bankstown TAFE HSC program, said in recent years students had told him they had to take HSC subjects at TAFE because they could not sit them at Malek Fahd. He said one Malek Fahd student who was asked to leave the school achieved a lowest score of 60 per cent and a highest score of 72 per cent at TAFE.
"I have had parents in tears because their children have not been allowed to sit subjects at the school," he said.
"I'm happy to have those kids here. These are very good students - well behaved and a pleasure to teach."
Here's how one subscriber to the "Sydney Muslims" yahoogroup responded ...
Of course by sending the strugglers elsewhere they aren’t counted n Malek Fahd’s scores and don’t bring the average down. This boosts the schools position on the HSC league table. No doubt other private schools do the same regardless of which religion they subscribe to.Is he right? I think he has a point.
The disturbing thing about this is that the school a recipient of $12.9 million in taxpayer largesse last year sees fit to fob off its weaker students to the publicly funded TAFE system. This is even more galling when the $3.4 million surplus for 2006 is considered. Why is this money not being put into helping the weaker students boost their performance? The school should cater for all its students and not be a cash cow for its masters.
Words © 2008 Irfan Yusuf
1 comment:
I agree with the funding the school gets i believe more subjects should be offered. I was a ex-student at the school and I was sent to TAFE, however I was not from the weaker student, I was one of three students that survived to contnue to year 11 and 12 in the school and achieve excellent marks but no doubt faced the taunting comments of my principal everyday for me not being good enough.
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