Trojan head receives five year teaching ban

Jahangir Akbar, a head teacher from Birmingham who was accused of misconduct in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal has been banned from teaching, but can challenge the ban after five years.

Akbar was accused of attempting to ‘eliminate’ the celebration of Christmas in school and ‘undermining tolerance’ of other beliefs.

The tribunal concluded that Akbar’s behaviour was ‘misconduct of a serious nature’ and that Akbar had ‘failed to uphold trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviours’.

At the time Akbar was acting head of Oldknow Academy in Small Heath, one of the Birmingham schools caught up in the Trojan Horse claims of takeover by groups promoting a hard-line Muslim agenda.

Akbar was found guilty in December and is the first to face such sanctions.

Whilst numerous allegations were launched against Akbar, the panel did not accept accusations that he had tried to ‘exclude the proper teaching of sex and relationship education’ or that he had tried to decrease the hours of music and art lessons.

The misconduct panel also said it had not found that Akbar was ‘promoting religious extremism’ but maintained his ‘conduct was incompatible with being a teacher’.

The head teacher has been ‘prohibited from teaching indefinitely’ but can apply for the ban to be lifted in five years.

The panel concluded: “This should allow Mr Akbar sufficient time to demonstrate his understanding of, and ability to implement, a balanced and broadly based curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural and mental development of pupils."