Sacred Heart, Sekolah Katolik yang Bakal Jadi Sekolah IslamSekolah Dasar Katolik Sacred Heart di Blackburn UK bakal menjadi sekolah Katolik pertama yang akan bertukar menjadi sebuah sekolah Islam, jika masyarakat Muslim di kota tersebut jadi membeli sekolah berkenaan.
Pihak sekolah telah merancang untuk menutup sekolah berkenaan kerana jumlah pelajar Islam di sekolah itu lebih ramai dari pelajar beragama Katolik.
Sepuluh tahun yang lalu, 9 dari 10 pelajar di sekolah itu beragama Katolik. Tapi angka itu telah menjunam, sampai tahun ini cuma 4 dari 10 pelajar yang beragama Katolik, selebihnya muslim.
Sebagai sekolah Katolik, gurubesar sekolah Sacret Heart seharusnya beragama Katolik dan 10 peratus mata pelajaran adalah pelajaran berasaskan ajaran Katolik.
Tapi oleh kerana ramai pelajar beragama Islam, situasinya berubah. Lembaga sekolah Blackburn mengakui bahwa sekolah yang mereka kelola itu kini tidak lagi "melayani keperluan" masyarakat.
Berdasarkan Undang-undang tempatan, Dewan Kota Blackburn perlu mencari pihak lain yang akan mengelola sekolah tersebut, jika lembaga Katolik tidak lagi mengelolanya. Peluang ini dinantikan oleh masyarakat Islam di Blackburn. Masjid Tauheedul Islam di kota itu adalah salah satu-satunya pihak yang menyatakan berminat untuk mengambil alih pengelolaan Sacred Heart, meski saat ini masjid tersebut sudah pun memiliki sebuah sekolah khusus untuk anak perempuan.
Pengetua Sekolah Menengah Puteri Tauheedul Islam Hamid Patel mengatakan, "Mengingat majoriti pelajar sekolah Sacred Heart adalah muslim, masuk akal jika kami berminat mengelola sekolah itu."
"Kami masih mencari maklumat lebih lanjut, apa yang diinginkan oleh pihak penguasa tempatan. Tapi masyarakat Islam dan pihak sekolah menginginkan kami untuk melibatkan diri dalam masalah ini, dan tentu saja kami berminat pada sekolah itu," sambung Patel.
Populasi muslim di UK meningkat sekitar 2.5 juta orang di antara tahun 2004-2008. Ketika ini cuma ada 11 sekolah Islam yang dibiayai pemerintah di seluruh UK.
Masyarakat Islam masih memerlukan lebih banyak lagi sekolah-sekolah Islam.
Numbers in decline so Catholic school converts to Islam
A ROMAN CATHOLIC primary school in Lancashire looks set to become the first in the country to convert to an Islamic faith school after the number of Christian pupils plummeted.
The Diocese of Salford — which runs the school — wants to close Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Blackburn because the number of Catholic students has dwindled from a staggering 91 per cent to just 3 per cent in a decade.
A massive shift in population means there are only five or six Catholics attending at the moment.
The 197-pupil school is in the centre of Blackburn and its pupils are largely from ethnic minority groups — many of them Asians from Indian and Pakistani origin. Many do not speak English as their first language.
In what would be the first case of its kind in Britain, the primary would be handed over to another organisation to run and re-opened with a new name.
The new provider will be decided by a competition, under which different organisations bid to the local authority to be put in charge.
A local mosque, Tauheedul, is the leading contender to take over the day-to-day running of the school.
If approved to be run by the mosque, the Sacred Heart RC Primary School will be the second such institution in the city alongside the nearby Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School, which admits specifically Muslim students.
Harry Devonport of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Children’s Services department says the decision has been taken due to the reducing number of Catholics in the area surrounding the school over recent years.
He said: “The decision to cease to maintain the school as a Catholic school has been taken by the RC Diocese.
“The recommendation is to establish a new school which will be looked at by the Executive Board after an extensive consultation has taken place.”
He also added that there would be no disruption to pupils or staff at the school.
“This is merely a technical change which will involve the same staff. There will be no disruption for our children at this school. Our main focus is ensuring that pupils have access to quality education.
“We will issue letters to parents to explain the process.” -Irish Post
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