The Muslim News

By Yasser Peerbux

Schools in Leicester could close to students on religious holidays to tackle a high rate of absence.

Leicester City Council is considering turning religious festivals like ‘Id into teacher-training days in schools with a high rate of pupils of one religion because hundreds take the day off anyway.

There were high rates of absence in Leicester last autumn due to festivals falling on term time weekdays. But responses from schools about the suggestion are mixed.

Schools like Highfields Primary do not have teacher-only days on festivals because staffs also want to be with their families on these days.

Highfields Primary’s Headteacher, Jane Ridgewell, said, “Where staff are not of the same faith it can work and it’s up to individual schools. Although we don’t close, we do understand the community we serve.”

In 2006, schools were told to mark days off for religious holidays as an absence, and high rates of non-attendance reflect badly on schools and councils.

Training days for schools in Leicester can be scheduled on non-Christian holidays but the decision is up to the schools governors. There is no city-wide policy.

Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations spokesman, Suleman Nagdi, told The Muslim News, “We need to be fair. We should only adopt this idea if a religious group is dominant in the school but not if the group is a minority.

“Secondly, this practice must not be at the cost of others. We can’t just have teacher training days for Muslim festivals and not for Hindus or Sikhs.

“Leicester’s minority will be the majority in the future and we need to have a rational and robust debate about the issue and not be emotional about it.”

Speaking to The Muslim News a Leicester City Council said, “We do try to take into account religious festivals like ‘Id when we set term dates. Leicester is a diverse city.”

Attendance for secondary school pupils in Leicester fell from 93.06 per cent between September and December 2007 to 92.05 last year. The drop is seen as significant.

There was a similar drop in primary schools where autumn attendance dropped from 94.03 per cent to 93.07 per cent.