Poll reveals public's faith schools doubts

Tuesday, 23 August 2005 12:00 AM

Most people are against state funding of faith schools, according to a new poll.

The ICM poll for the Guardian published today finds that almost two thirds of people asked are against government plans to increase the number of faith schools because of fears they could be divisive.

The poll will add to the debate about integration of minority groups and the nature of a multicultural Britain in the wake of the London terror attacks last month.

A total of 64 per cent asked agreed with the statement: "the government should not be funding faith schools of any kind".

But both the government and the Conservatives have backed the principle of state-supported faith schools.

The government will launch specific proposals in the autumn to make it easier for any independent school to join the state sector and access government funds - an option that will be available for independent religious schools.

And the prime minister has publicly backed religious schools in the state sector - last month he said such institutions did not exacerbate divisions and instead helped to foster a strong set of moral values in children.

The premier's sentiments have been echoed by the Muslim groups.

The Muslim Council of Britain education spokesman Tahir Alam told politics.co.uk there was "no evidence" faith schools created divisions, and they actually helped to turn out responsible citizens.

And the director of the Association of Muslim Schools UK, Idris Mears, added that students of minority backgrounds who went through religious schools were less alienated and "don't ghettoise themselves mentally".

The Conservatives have backed the philosophy behind faith schools.

Shadow education secretary David Cameron disputed the poll, saying: "The reality is that faith schools are popular with parents, usually heavily oversubscribed, and deliver better than average exam results."

And the ICM poll shows a quarter of respondents feel religious schools are an important part of the education system and the government should fund Muslim schools if Christian and Jewish schools had state backing.

A third of schools in England are faith schools - which comes to a total of 7,000 schools. Most - 6,955 - are Christian, with 36 Jewish, five Muslim and two Sikh schools.

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