Taxi driver Ikram Hussain and his wife Humaira fined for taking child out of Paddock school to attend his mother's funeral in Pakistan Funeral service included 40 days of prayer
Ikram Hussain of Paddock, fined after taking his daughter Imaan to Pakistan and thereby keeping her from school for a month - Mr Hussain and his daughter Amaan (6).
A grieving man has ended up paying a whopping fine for taking his daughter out of school to Pakistan for her grandmother’s funeral.
Ikram Hussain, a 51-year-old taxi driver, is complaining about being fined for taking his five-year-old daughter Imaan out of Paddock Junior, Infant and Nursery School to attend his 86-year-old mother - Gulab Bi’s funeral.
She died on March 3 and the next day he says his wife, Humaira Hussain, 31, went to the school to explain the situation and was told she and her husband would be fined if they proceeded as intended.
He said their daughter, who is now six, was taken out of school on March 4 and didn’t return there until April 9 with Mr Hussain, a father of four young children, explaining that such funeral services include 40 days of prayer.
On October 15 the couple appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court, pleaded guilty and were duly fined. Mr Hussain said because they hadn’t paid the original fine within the required time frame the fine of £50 was doubled to £100 each. In total the amount payable was £416.80 including costs.
Mr Hussain, of Heaton Gardens, Paddock, said: “At the time I was not really bothered but I am annoyed about it now. It’s not as if it was a pleasant trip for us to make.
“The magistrates were not interested in what I had to say. I wanted a jury to hear what I had to say but it seems that’s not possible.”
Gill Ellis, Assistant Director for Learning and Skills at Kirklees Council said: “The law makes it clear that head teachers can only grant leave of absence during term time for exceptional reasons. It is at the discretion of the head teacher to decide what is exceptional and how many days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.
“If a parent decides to take the child out of school without the head teacher’s permission then they will have 21 days from the day the fine is issued before it doubles.
“If after 28 days the fine remains unpaid then the council will normally proceed with prosecution.
“The court then determines whether the parents are guilty of an offence. Parents are advised of the process when they make the initial leave request.
“We are committed to providing the best start in life for our young people, in schools.
“Therefore, every lesson of every day is important and absence from school can be very damaging to a child’s education.
“We have an excellent record in Kirklees of reducing absence from school and overwhelmingly it is the case that parents are very supportive of the measures taken locally to promote attendance at school.”
source:
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yor ... fe-7978558
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