Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 1:01am
Sikh school expansion sparks row
A Canadian Sikh school's plans to expand has divided the community, with some saying that segregating boys and girls from the larger society will only harm the students, while others disagree.
The Khalsa School at Mississaugahas in Greater Toronto Area, which opened in 1995 with only 68 students, now has 400. It offers a means of holding on to the Sikh tradition, IANS reported Thursday.
The school recently acquired five hectares of land and plans to expand its curriculum. Now some parents and others in the Sikh community believe teaching the children without interacting with others in Canadian society only isolates them.
The Globe and Mail quoted Kaylene Brar, a teacher from another school, as saying: "Canada's USP is its multi-ethnicity. Kids, at not just the Sikh school but other religious schools, miss out on cultural assimilation that starts at the school level."
Deepinder Gill, however, whose two daughters attend the Sikh school, disagrees. "It keeps them closer to their faith and their culture," he said.
"I don't have to worry that they won't know anything about Sikhism. They are doing well academically," he said.
At the school, students and teachers cover their heads with turbans or scarves. "We offer Sikh families a choice," said Vice-Principal Harman Ahluwalia. The school follows the Ontario school curriculum besides teaching "kirtan," Sikh theology, Punjabi language and Sikh heritage.
The high school is expanding at just the right time, when Sikh population in Greater Toronto Area, now 150,000, is growing, said Roma Kaur, who edits a women's magazine. "The school's doing a good job of preserving the Sikh heritage, but it is time to upgrade it. I know there's been a demand for it," she said.
The Khalsa School at Mississaugahas in Greater Toronto Area, which opened in 1995 with only 68 students, now has 400. It offers a means of holding on to the Sikh tradition, IANS reported Thursday.
The school recently acquired five hectares of land and plans to expand its curriculum. Now some parents and others in the Sikh community believe teaching the children without interacting with others in Canadian society only isolates them.
The Globe and Mail quoted Kaylene Brar, a teacher from another school, as saying: "Canada's USP is its multi-ethnicity. Kids, at not just the Sikh school but other religious schools, miss out on cultural assimilation that starts at the school level."
Deepinder Gill, however, whose two daughters attend the Sikh school, disagrees. "It keeps them closer to their faith and their culture," he said.
"I don't have to worry that they won't know anything about Sikhism. They are doing well academically," he said.
At the school, students and teachers cover their heads with turbans or scarves. "We offer Sikh families a choice," said Vice-Principal Harman Ahluwalia. The school follows the Ontario school curriculum besides teaching "kirtan," Sikh theology, Punjabi language and Sikh heritage.
The high school is expanding at just the right time, when Sikh population in Greater Toronto Area, now 150,000, is growing, said Roma Kaur, who edits a women's magazine. "The school's doing a good job of preserving the Sikh heritage, but it is time to upgrade it. I know there's been a demand for it," she said.