UK Iskcon to Open State-funded Hindu School

07-07-2005, 08:57 AM

London Post
A State-funded Hindu school in Britain
By Prasun Sonwalkar

"The organisation is associated with the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness, which operates a Hindu temple and a private
school in Hertfordshire."

Britain's first state-funded Hindu primary school is expected to open
in north-west London in 2008. The move has received support of its
local authority.

In early July, the London borough of Harrow backed a submission by
the I-Foundation, a not-for-profit Hindu organisation, to seek
government funding for the voluntary-aided school.

If the submission is successful, then the Department for Education
and Skills will help meet the capital costs of the project, with the
rest of the money coming from the local authority and the foundation.
A decision is expected by September.

A Harrow council spokeswoman told The Guardian that the new school is
likely to open in September 2008, following an extensive consultation
with residents.

It would be a one-form entry school, and admissions would be
staggered to minimise the impact on other schools in the area with a
large number of Hindu pupils. It will be eight years before the
school runs at full capacity.

The I-Foundation said it picked Harrow because the borough has the
highest concentration of Hindus in the country— almost 20 per cent of
the population. It said it had not ruled out setting up a Hindu
secondary school in the London borough.

The organisation is associated with the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness, which operates a Hindu temple and a private
school in Hertfordshire.

Harrow has 11 voluntary-aided faith schools, nine of which are
primaries—eight are Roman Catholic, two are Church of England and one
is Jewish. The council said they all make a `very positive
contribution' to education in the borough.

Another Hindu school is also likely to open in the neighbouring
borough of Brent.

The local authority has given its support `in principle' to an
application believed to have been made by the Akshar Education Trust,
which runs the private Swaminarayan school in Neasden.
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05-15-2006, 08:18 PM

great!