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The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting children are being forced to sit in sweltering classrooms at a Sydney school, while its former board members are officially accused of using taxpayer funds inappropriately.

The Mallek Fahd school in Hoxton Park, has received up to 70 letters addressed to the principal demanding answers as to why it has failed to provide students with air-conditioning.

“Children have been crammed into double classes from kindergarten upwards when the thermometer hits 36 degrees and above,” said a kindergarten parent who did not wish to be named, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Another parent told the Sydney Morning Herald:

“For over a year, parents have been promised that all children will be provided air-conditioning,” another parent told the Sydney Morning Herald, “Unfortunately, week after week, the parents have been stonewalled.”

Mona Kassem, the principal of Hoxton Park campus has so far not commented on the parental concerns.

The complaints come as anger grows within the Malek Fahd school community over the alleged mismanagement of funding across its three campuses in Greenacre, Beaumont Hills and Hoxton Park.

Last week, the federal government announced that it would strip $19 million in Commonwealth funding after it found significant issues with its governance processes.

Despite being a private institution, the 2400-student school, one of the largest in NSW, relies on taxpayer funding for up to 75 per cent of its income. It is one of six schools run by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) currently under investigation by the federal government.

Parents, staff and board members are due to gather at the school for a meeting to decide the future of the school on Monday afternoon.

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  • Poor kids. I didn’t have air con at school and I remember some days being very hot and sticky, but nothing too bad. The kids have to be comfortable enough to learn, otherwise you’re just cooking their brain!

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  • This is a bit of a luxury problem. Not all classrooms at the school of my kids are air conditioned. But then my house isn’t either.

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  • we all survived!! Fans were all we had

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  • Poor kids. How are they suppose to cope in heat like that! Hope the school provided plenty of cold water for them to drink.

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  • no it is not common place around here to have iaircons. such a shame for the kids! humidity is bad too!

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  • My children go to a public country school where temperatures also get very high. As a parent group concerned about this we got together as a P&C and ran events to raise money. We have now put air conditioning in every classroom of our school. It may spread more germs around but at least the children are not melting.

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  • That is terrible! How can kids work in class with such temperatures?

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  • Lke lo

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  • If the school receives 75% of it’s funding from taxpayers, then there should be government representatives on each of their school boards to ensure that the funds are being used correctly.

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  • Children in Australia should not be sweltering in classes. It is bad for health and impossible for children to learn. Excessive heat causes tiredness and lethargy.


    • They could also suffer from heat stress or heat stroke. They probably don’t take water into the classroom to drink either. The dehydration level is a huge factor in health issues, incuding kidney damage. I don’t know the area but If the schools are in a high risk fire area they shouldn’t even be at school.

    Reply

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