Children should enjoy their youth. They should be educated in a safe and loving environment. Although this picture is what most see, not all children are taught in this type of educational system.
Thousands of children in London have been moved to unlicensed Jewish faith schools and the Department of Education is aware of this issue since 2010 but they did not do any action to resolve the problem, according to Independent. In fact, they destroyed the evidence as requested by the religious institutions.
Per the report, over 1,000 children are missing from schools in London. These kids may be in danger from abuse in these illegal faith schools. The said schools are ultra-Orthodox Jewish faith schools where boys from age 13 are only taught about the religious text. Several pupils who leave the school lack the skills to speak English and they are not equipped with abilities to qualify them for work.
Former students, advocates and whistleblowers reveal that these schools operate in plain sight but without government action. These illegal schools operate but they are not registered. Furthermore, several cases of physical violence and sexual abuse have taken place in it.
Trust representatives talked about their investigation during the meeting. They admitted that they were able to track evidence of the missing children, which could have permitted them to protect those children but some schools threatened legal actions against the Trust. So, they backed down and comply to destroy the evidence they collected.
In a separate report from Independent, one student shared his experience. According to the student, the school has no concept of health and safety. There were only two toilets for 300 children and the teachers only told them that God would protect them. He also heard some stories that other children were molested. His childhood was a nightmare.
"I feel my childhood was stolen," the former student wrote. "Ultimately the blame comes down to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community who run these schools and sends their children to them but I feel a lot of the blame is on the authorities. They are the ones who are the guardians of children and they've stolen my childhood, stolen my rights, stolen any chance to have real choice and opportunity in life."
Do you blame the authorities for their lack of action? What should the authorities do to solve this issue? Why is Trust afraid of the school's threat about legal actions? Share your thoughts below
