SCOTLAND should set up a state-funded Muslim school to acknowledge the country’s “multicultural landscape”, says a study.
A report produced by academics at Edinburgh University says that a “significant proportion” of school-aged people in Scotland are Muslim and a state school for these students would show the Government’s “commitment to parity”.
The study, led by Dr Khadijah Elshayyal, states that Urdu should be taught “more explicitly” in schools, as it is Scotland’s fourth most widely spoken language.
Authors of the study also claim that the Muslim school could take children from all backgrounds, and represent an opportunity for community engagement.
But opponents of the idea have said that it is “counter-intuitive” to call for “segregated schooling”, when schools should be a “beacon of integration”.
The University of Edinburgh report states: “At the moment, there is no state-funded Muslim school in Scotland, although there is a strong tradition of state funding for Roman Catholic schools, as well as three state-funded Episcopalian schools and one state-funded Jewish school.
“The evidence in this report suggests that, in view of the significant proportion of Muslims among school-aged children in some wards within Glasgow and Dundee, there is an opportunity for the Scottish Government to demonstrate its commitment to parity by taking steps towards funding a Muslim school.
“If such a school were open to children from all backgrounds, it would serve as an acknowledgment of Scotland’s multi-faith and multicultural landscape, and could represent an opportunity for successful community engagement with the education system, as well as for inter-faith integration.”
It adds: “Considering that Urdu is the fourth most widely spoken language in the home, the Scottish Government’s 1+2 language learning initiative for schools should include Urdu more explicitly – especially, but not exclusively – in areas with high Pakistani populations such as Glasgow and Dundee.”
The report comes after a UK-Government review found that segregation and social exclusion in Britain were at “worrying levels”.
The Casey Review, led by Dame Louise Casey, stated that community cohesion “did not feel universally strong across the country”.
Gordon MacRae of the Humanist Society of Scotland said that rather than embodying a “single religious character”, state schools should be a “beacon of integration”.
He said: “We believe children of all faiths, and none, should be together in schools that encourage learning about religion, but that do not embody a single religious character.
“It would be counterintuitive, as we have a group that has succeeded in the state school system, so why call for new forms of segregation?
“Muslim children are doing well when learning with children of different or no faith.”
The Muslim Council of Scotland said the idea should be looked at, as faith-based schools operate across the UK, but it is not something they are directly engaged in.
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