Former Birmingham Governor barred from running schools

Waseem Yaqub, former Chair of Governors at Al-Hijrah School, has been barred from running schools in the future by the Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening.

The barring decision also has the effect of disqualifying Yaqub from being a governor at a local-authority-maintained school.

Al-Hijrah school, which caters for pupils aged 4-16, was one of the most sought after schools in Birmingham until it was placed in special measures in 2014. All official inquiries cleared Al-Hijrah School governors of any involvement in the 'Trojan Horse Conspiracy'.

However, the DfE found that in his various roles on Al-Hijrah’s Governing Body, Mr Yaqub promoted, permitted or failed to challenge inadequate financial monitoring and decision-making on the part of the Governing Body. When an Interim Executive Board was appointed in June 2014, Mr Yaqub engaged in unlawful conduct designed to prevent its members from performing their lawful functions.

The school remains in special measures following an inspection in March this year. Waseem Yaqub has 3 months to appeal from the date on the decision letter.