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alert! to secularism activists

godless | 02.06.2005 11:14 | Education

Proposal to state-fund another faith school:

Hindu school plan wins backing

Governors will be responsible for admissions

Plans to create one of the UK's first voluntary aided Hindu schools in London have been approved by Harrow Council.
The I-Foundation, a non-profit making organisation made up of Hindu community leaders, successfully bid to set up the primary school in north London.

The council claims 20% of its residents are Hindu, the highest percentage for any local authority in the country.

An application will be made for state funding for the school, which would also get private cash.

As well as private funds voluntary aided schools get Local Education Authority support, but governors are responsible for selection criteria and admissions.

'Recognises demand'

Councillor Navin Shah, Leader of Harrow Council said: "The council has taken a first and giant step towards establishing a voluntary aided Hindu faith school in Harrow."

The move "recognised the demand and aspirations of the significant Hindu community in Harrow", she said.

A review of the I-Foundation bid showed it proposed a strong contribution to addressing the underachievement of ethnic minorities.

The government is due to make a decision on the bid in September.


godless

Comments

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god

02.06.2005 22:17

as if god is a Hindu - didn't you read about the Thugees?
Didn't you read your Old Testament?

as if


Doh...

03.06.2005 10:52

Yep, read the Old Testament from cover to cover - no mention of Thugees at all.

Mind you, who wants to live their life based on the legends and myths of a bunch of Bronze Age desert nomads?

Thank God I'm an atheist


How about faithless schools too?

03.06.2005 17:08

I'll be happy for public money to support "faith" schools (let's call a spade a spade: they're religions, ok?) as long as we can have athieistic schools where religion is rubbished and any sign of "belief" on the part of the students or their parents is automatic disqualification for attending.

I really don't have a problem with people being religious. They can believe (or disbelieve) what they like. What I don't like is public money supporting it and the segregation of impressionable young people who by definition will consequently have less ability to peacefully and democratically tolerate the otherwise harmless idiocies of others.

Zorro