THE 11 GIRL pupils affected by the closure of the Muslim school in Dundee have been sent to “other institutes with a good record in education,” a trustee of the school said yesterday, writes Andrew Argo, education reporter.

Zubair Karim would not identify the institutes because the agreements to send them there insisted on confidentiality.

He said, “We had a contingency plan for the pupils should the school have to close, and that contingency plan is being used.

“The pupils are being taught elsewhere at other institutes with a good record in education.”

Mr Karim was emphatic the Imam Muhammad Zakariya School in Strathern Road was closed by the trustees because of the need for it to be refurbished.

He stressed it will reopen later this year.

He rejected the notion its closure was linked to a second unfavourable report from the Inspectorate of Education which culminated in it being served with a notice of complaint by Scottish Ministers.

He was, however, unhappy at the inspection system.

He believes the school received little or no help from the inspectors about meeting standards.

He said, “They didn’t tell us the criteria against which the school would be judged.”

The Imam Muhammad Zakariya School, an independent establishment, was the only one of its kind in Scotland.

It was funded through fees of £1500 a year from the pupils, plus support from the Muslim community.