A married pair of trustees have been disqualified after a regulatory inquiry found serious financial mismanagement at their education charity.
The Charity Commission reported that the Birmingham Education Trust board members only submitted an annual return once in the 23 years from the organisation’s registration in 1997 until the opening of the inquiry.
It found that Asif and Samina Jawaid were “unable to manage any potential conflicts of interest that may have arisen” from their relationship.
One of the married trustees was employed as headteacher of the charity’s now-closed school, Al Huda Girls School, which was in contravention of the charity’s governing document.
The two daughters of the trustees were also employed as teachers at the school, “with no evidence to indicate that conflicts of interest had been managed or that the decision was in the best interests of the charity”.
Birmingham Education Trust’s accounts for the year to August 2018 say “Mrs S Jawaid is employed by the charity as a headteacher at the school” and that Sumeya and Salma Jawaid were employed as teachers.
School closure
The charity funded and operated the private secondary Al Huda Girls School in Birmingham, which included the promotion of the teaching of the Islamic faith to Muslim girls.
According to Ofsted’s website, the school closed last year after receiving a “requires improvement” rating in 2021, which said that leaders had “failed to ensure that the school meets all independent school standards”.
Ofsted previously rated the school as “good” in 2017.
Accounting failures
The Commission said the trustees ignored its advice and repeatedly failed to file the charity’s annual accounting information.
Trustees also failed to maintain sufficient financial records for a prolonged period, the regulator said, which meant they were unable to account for all of the charity’s expenditure and is “a serious failing in the management of the charity”.
Only one of the trustees acted as a signatory to the charity’s bank account, the Commission reported, which is a breach of its own governing document and put charitable funds at risk.
Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the Commission, said: “Basic duties of financial record-keeping and reporting, which are essential in maintaining trust in individual charities and the sector as a whole, were neglected.
“Our intervention has rightfully culminated in the removal of the original trustees and the appointment of new ones.
“The charity’s recent outstanding accounts have been submitted, and I hope it is now back on track to deliver for its beneficiaries.”
