Muslim Cleric Appointed As UK’s Education Minister? No, Viral Claim Is Misleading

Several users have taken to X to mock the United Kingdom (UK) for purportedly appointing Muslim scholar Hamid Patel as its minister of education, claiming that the move is further evidence of the “Islamisation” of the UK. “England’s in-charge of education department…God can’t save England anymore, only Allah may save from creating more Taliban,” read one such post sharing a photo of the cleric, while others stated: “What are you thinking Britain? God bless the UK education system.”

The archived version of a post, which has clocked 4.9M views so far, can be seen here.

Fact Check

Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Hamid Patel education minister UK,” which led us to news reports from The Telegraph and Daily Mail on the recent historic appointment of Hamid Patel as the interim chairman of education watchdog Ofsted until a successor is found for Dame Christine Ryan at the schools’ regulator. The reports, which also shared the viral photograph of Patel, stated that he is the first religious school leader appointed to the position and that he has been on the board of Ofsted since 2019, while also serving as the chief executive of the noted Star Academies educational trust since its inception in 2010.

“Sir Hamid Patel has been appointed to serve as interim Chair of the Ofsted Board until a successor is found for Dame Christine Ryan, who announced in November that she would be stepping down this year. Sir Hamid, who has been an Ofsted Board member since 2019, will serve for a period of up to 5 months until a new substantive Chair is appointed,” read an Ofsted press release, dated March 11, 2025, available on the official United Kingdom government website.

What Is Ofsted?

Ofsted — the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills — is a non-ministerial government body in the UK that inspects and reports on anywhere that provides education for young people, including schools, colleges, nurseries and childminders. Many parents and carers rely on Ofsted ratings to help them choose a school or nursery for their child.

We learnt that although Ofsted is a non-ministerial department of the UK government and reports to the Parliament, it is independent and impartial. Whilst Ofsted operates independently, it’s accountable to Parliament because the central government provides the funding, therefore Ofsted’s actions must be explained to the education minister.

Which Is The Supreme Education Body In The UK?

The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.

Screengrab from the UK government website.

According to the government website, DfE is a ministerial department, supported by 18 agencies and public bodies, including Ofsted, which further contradicts the viral claim that Hamid Patel was appointed as the UK’s minister of education or that he was in-charge of the education department.

We learnt that the current Secretary of State for Education is Labour Party MP Bridget Phillipson, who was appointed on July 5, 2024 and is responsible for the work of the DfE and chairs the departmental board, further proving the viral claim to be false.

Also Read: Holi Celebrations In China? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Video

Conclusion

The current education secretary in the UK is Bridget Phillipson, not Hamid Patel as claimed, although he occupies a key role as interim chairman of national education regulator Ofsted.

Sources
The Telegraph report, March 15, 2025
BBC report,  February 4, 2025
Gov.UK website