Ministries

Government Backs Expansion of Faith Schools

Government pledges to remove "unnecessary barriers" to the establishment of more state-funded faith schools.

Government ministers have announced Monday that they will take steps to remove “unnecessary barriers” holding religious groups up from establishing state-funded faith schools.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families issued a joint document together with a number of faith groups including the Church of England Board of Education, the Association of Muslim Schools, and the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

In the Faith In The System document, ministers and faith leaders stated: "The government and faith school providers believe that all schools - whether they have a religious character or not - play a key role in providing a safe and harmonious environment for all in our society, thereby fostering understanding, integration and cohesion.

"The Government recognises that, in relation to the overall size of their populations, there are relatively few faith school places in the maintained sector available to Muslim, Sikh and Hindu children compared to the provision available for Christian and Jewish families."

There are currently just seven state-funded Muslim schools across England, educating only around 1,770 of England’s 376,000 Muslim children between the ages of five and 15.

The document has also received the backing of other faith bodies, including the Catholic Education Service, the Hindu Council UK and the Network of Sikh Organisations.

Teachers’ group the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, came out to criticise the statement. ATL’s General Secretary, Mary Bousted, questioned “whether faith schools, particularly those where staff and children are chosen on a faith basis, provide an environment for 'interaction between different faiths and communities”.

The Faith in the System document, however, confirmed Government support for more faith schools: "The Government will work with local authorities as the commissioners of schools and school places in each area and with faith organisations to remove unnecessary barriers to the creation of new faith schools."

Added: Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 23:18 (BST)

Community Cohesion According to Ruth Kelly, migrants must learn English language to integrate. Learning English language is about as useful as learning Arabic, Urdu and other community languages. The British Establishment and society has systematically failed to understand the causes of migration, global terrorism and social and emotional, economic segregation. Muslims suffer different forms of discrimination which reduce their employment opportunities and affect their educational achievements. This can give rise to hopelessness and could undermine Muslims’ sense of belongingness. Islamophobia is a growing reality of racism around the world. The only way to stop it is by respecting the religious diversity. Communities are more divided than ever. The Government presses ahead with flawed policies and anti-terrorist legislation that created further resentment, alienation and criminalization. A dramatic surge of racist and religiously—motivated violence followed the 7/7, London and Glasgow bombing. The British establishment is wrong in thinking that Imams are to blame for extremism. Imams are not solution to the problem for extremism. Extremism is nothing to do with Imams. Extremism is not created from abroad, it is coming from within. Britain fails to help Muslim communities feel part of British society. Race trouble is being predicted by the Daily Express, because of an ethnic boom in UK major cities. Muslim communities need imams for the solutions of their needs and demands in their own native languages. Muslim parents would like to see their children well versed in Standard English and to go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. The fact is that majority of Muslim children leave schools with low grades because monolingual teachers are not capable to teach Standard English to bilingual Muslim children. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit. Iftikhar Ahmad www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

Iftikhar Ahmad, London United Kingdom

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