Muslim private education: “inequal treatment” in France denounced

The National Federation of Private Muslim Education (FNEM) points out that in France, “the Muslim community remains largely under-resourced in private schools” and pleads for “equal treatment” with other networks.

While the National Federation of Private Muslim Education (FNEM) had only eleven private educational establishments under contract with the State (first and second degrees) in which 1,886 students were educated in classes under contract, before the termination of the association contract with the Averroès high school (main Muslim high school in France), 7,000 of the more than 7,500 private establishments under contract at the start of the 2021 school year were part of the Catholic education network, reports La Croix. An observation which pushes the FNEM to plead for “equal treatment” with other networks. In a press release, the FNEM, created in 2014 to structure the network of Muslim schools, colleges and high schools, under the leadership of the former Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF, now Muslims of France), regrets a “ reduced supply” of Muslim schools and “very restricted” openings.