News

We want Syhlet school

Shelina Begum
4/ 5/2004

MEMBERS of the Bangladeshi community are disappointed that plans to set up a school in Sylhet will not go ahead after a massive backlash against the idea.
Parents and community organisations said they backed the plan and argued it would save Manchester education authority money.
Chairwoman of the Salford-based Megna Woman's Group, Salma Begum said young primary school children are badly affected by long holidays used to visit relatives in Bangladesh.
She said: "Young Bangladeshi children are often still learning to speak English in primary school. When they go abroad for a few months they forget the basics. This means when they return they have to learn English from scratch.
"A school in Sylhet would mean that they would get their daily lessons and therefore won't forget English. It's an ideal solution especially as Bangladeshi kids do worst in exams."
Parent of primary and high school children, Kurshid Ali added: "Many Bangladeshi parents were excited about the idea and may even have paid to send their children to the school which would have saved the council money."
Farooq Ahmed from the Greater Manchester Moulvi Association said: "The council are trying their best to stop families taking long holidays abroad during school term, but it's not working.
"Instead of spending so much money on giving children education packs that they don't even use in Bangladesh, it would be better spent on a school."
Education bosses were planning to build a school in Sylhet and run it at a cost of £100,000 a year to tackle the problem of parents taking children for extended holidays which can last up to six months.
They hoped youngsters would be taught in line with the national curriculum and keep on top of their studies while abroad.
However critics attacked the proposals as a waste of money and unfair preferential treatment for group of school children. The pressure got so great that education bosses backtracked. Now Manchester council leader Richard Leese has distanced himself from the plan, saying it is "highly unlikely" that it will be carried out.
He added: "We welcome innovative thinking in trying to tackle problems such as attendance.
"But there has been no formal discussion about this particular idea within Manchester city council.
"There is no provision for it within the council's budget."
Tory MP for Altricham and Sale Graham Brady said the idea was "worrying" and could disrupt the stability and routine children need.
He said: "It is very worrying if the local authority is using tax payers money to provide preferential treatment for one group of children over another.
"I think that we are very keen that parents should understand the importance of their children attending school and fulfiling their commitments to their children's education. This goes against that."
But some headteachers backed the idea including Ian Fenn, headteacher at Burnage High School who is a Muslim convert.
He said: "This initiative would be very successful in primary schools, where there are the biggest problems with people taking extended holidays."


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