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Dozens of staff at a troubled independent school in Preston refused to come to work last week following the firing of two principals, leaving no cover for prep students and forcing classes to merge in every year level between grade 2 and year 10.
East Preston Islamic College – which is under review by the education watchdog – has been in crisis since its freshly installed board withheld staff members’ salaries at the start of the school year, triggering industrial action by the union and protests by disgruntled parents.
Students of East Preston Islamic College participated in protests at the front gates last month.Credit: Justin McManus
Thirty-three staff members from the low-fee school, which teaches students from prep to year 12, were absent on personal leave on Thursday, and 31 were off work on Friday, according to an internal staff bulletin, which ended with “PS I give up”.
The absences, covering almost one third of the school’s staff, came a week after the school’s chair and acting principal announced they had terminated the employment of former principal Neil Hasankolli and assistant principal and head of secondary school Masiha Rayan.
Hasankolli and Rayan were stood down from duties pending an investigation within weeks of each other during term one, due to what the board claimed was their “alleged serious misconduct”.
When Hasankolli was first stood down more than 100 staff signed a letter supporting him. Rayan, who was promoted to acting principal in his absence, was praised by the new board before she, too, was later stood down.
No details of the allegations against them have been given, and board chair Edin Dzelalagic and acting principal Sonya Hammoud told staff, students and parents that privacy and legal constraints stopped them from saying more.
“While we cannot provide additional details due to privacy and legal reasons, please know that the above decisions have been made after careful consideration and in the best interest of the school and our students,” their April 14 letter stated.
Victoria’s schools regulator is reviewing governance at the low-fee school, and its authorised officers were on-site last week while the school endured heavy staff absences.
The school was last year given an enforceable rectification plan by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority. Dzelalagic and Hammoud said they were “continuing to work through the necessary changes to the college’s governance, strategies and procedures which have been required by the school regulator, the VRQA, following an audit which took place last year”.
“We are confident that these changes, some of which are already in place, will ensure East Preston Islamic College continues to provide an excellent Islamic education for our students, allowing each student to unlock his or her potential and celebrate the strength of our wonderful school community,” they wrote.
Hasankolli said through his lawyers, Massi Ahmadzay and Associaties, that he would initiate legal proceedings against the school board over its “unfair and inadequate decision”, claiming that he had not been given an opportunity to respond to their allegations of misconduct.
“We submit that he has been denied evidence of the allegations, and the details of a meeting where he was supposed to respond to the allegations were never provided,” Massi Ahmadzay said.
Ahmadzay alleged Hasankolli had “fallen victim to the ongoing turmoil of the board”.
East Preston Islamic College is owned by the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria, a not-for-profit company owned by 11 Melbourne-based community groups and responsible for halal certification. The council’s previous board was ousted in a vote late last year, and the new board has also assumed responsibility for the school.
The new board temporarily withheld teachers’ pay in the first week of the school year during a stand-off over control of finances. Staff were paid only after the Independent Education Union took the board to the Fair Work Commission.
Some parents and students protested at the school entrance in fiery scenes early last month, leading the school to lock the front gates and station security guards there. The Age has been told some parents are planning a fresh protest on Monday morning.
Dzelalagic and Hammoud did not respond to written questions by deadline.
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