Ilim College facing government probe for ‘tracking’ student menstrual cycles

The state government is probing an Islamic school accused of tracking female students' periods, less than 24 hours after one called on Premier Jacinta Allan to “show that you care about the students”.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority - the state's education and training regulator - has inquired with Ilim College after receiving one anonymous complaint about the practice at the school.

“The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is our priority,” a VRQA spokesman said.

“The Child Safe Standards require schools to ensure children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously. This is non-negotiable.”

The Herald Sun on Thursday revealed female students at some Islamic schools were forced to disclose their periods to staff, with a number of colleges accused of “tracking” girls' menstrual cycles.

This included Ilim College, where a current student at the senior girls' campus in Melbourne's northern suburbs said she'd been forced to log her menstrual cycle with staff since primary school.

But some also want state and federal governments to do a full investigation.

One Nation Victoria's state executive president Warren Pickering said: “This is Australia and these girls are Australian. We must do better”.

“Any proposed inquiry needs to be external, thorough and transparent. It needs to determine if the issue is localised to one single institution, or if it's systemic within the wider Islamic education fraternity,” he said.

“If the same claims were made by a public school, I have no doubt a full investigation would entail.”