Public Prosecution Service asks judge to dismiss board of Amsterdam As-Siddieq schools

Earlier this month, Education Minister Mariëlle Paul virtually turned off the money tap for schools. They only receive 20 percent of the usual budget, because the desired changes in the board continue to fail to materialize. As a result, bankruptcy threatens in the short term and that is why the Public Prosecution Service is taking action.

It states in a press release that the board ‘acts so contrary to the interests of the foundation, but especially to those of the students and teachers of the schools involved’ that it must resign.

Rain of criticism

The Islamic School Amsterdam Foundation, the official name of the As-Siddieq board, is responsible for three primary schools: Al Maes in De Baarsjes, Al Jawhara in the Indische Buurt and Al Yaqoet in the Waterlandpleinbuurt. It is the largest Islamic educational institution in Amsterdam. For years it has been raining critical reports from the Education Inspectorate, which is concerned about the quality of education in schools.

Minister Paul previously requested the appointment of three new board members and a director. The new board members have now arrived. But a director who can count on the minister’s approval is still missing. A vacancy for a director-manager appeared in mid-March. ‘Who dares and wants to go for it?’ a recruitment agency asked in the accompanying text. The intention is that someone will be appointed within a few weeks. But the actions of the Public Prosecution Service disrupt that procedure.

Interim board is ready

The court will probably rule on the request to dismiss the entire board in the short term. If the court agrees, an interim board can be appointed immediately, which, according to a spokesperson for Minister Paul, is ready to get started. In that case, Minister Paul will ‘pause’ the financial sanctions. This means that funding from the government will be resumed to prevent the schools from collapsing.

However, it appears that the financial sanctions from the Ministry of Education are not enough to turn the tide. Although all agencies involved fear bankruptcy, the board has communicated in a letter to parents and employees that although funding has been reduced by 80 percent, there are no concerns and all salaries and invoices can be paid on time.

So now a different route has been chosen; the civilian route. In the case of foundations, if something is going on, such as mismanagement or mismanagement, the Public Prosecution Service can ask the court to ban a legal entity because it is contrary to public order. A foundation is a legal entity. Directors can be suspended and dismissed through this procedure if they have harmed the foundation.

No shot in the matter

As far as we know, it has never happened before that a school board has been dismissed due to the actions of the Public Prosecution Service. Under the Civil Code, the Public Prosecution Service can ask the judge to send the board of a foundation home if it acts contrary to its own articles of association.

Lawyer Wouter Pors, who specializes in education law, believes there is a good chance that the court will grant the Public Prosecution Service’s dismissal request. “I understand that the ministry has been trying in vain to replace the board for a long time and that no progress has been made in the matter. If a school is in danger of going under, I think there is a very good chance that the court will grant the request.”

It has also never happened before that a minister has intervened so strongly in primary schools due to mismanagement. The minister can also put a board on hold, which has happened a handful of times in recent years. But in such a case, the minister must demonstrate to the court that he has an interest in replacing the board. “For the Public Prosecution Service, this power is regulated by law, it does not have to prove that interest,” says Pors.

Behind the scenes

In the meantime, people are already thinking behind the scenes about what to do if the schools close and 1,100 children have to find a new place in Amsterdam. It is an agenda item for the BBO, the association of Amsterdam school boards in primary education. Because As Siddieq concerns special education, the schools affiliated with the BBO are not responsible for the care of the students. But they do feel responsible. How more than a thousand places should be created just before the summer holidays and how this will be distributed will be discussed in the coming weeks.

Next Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on a motion submitted by Denk, which calls on the government to make ‘maximum efforts’ to prevent students from the As-Siddieq schools from being sent home.

The municipality of Amsterdam stated in a written response that, just like the ministry and the inspectorate, it has been concerned for a long time about the resulting administrative crisis and its effect on education in schools. ‘The importance of continuity of good education for children must always remain paramount. We will continue to closely monitor the process.’

The school board itself has never responded to messages about this since the internal crisis arose in 2020, when the board split into two camps, and was not available for comment on Friday morning.