Parents' anger after school bans pupils from watching the eclipse for 'cultural and religious' reasons - but the headteacher refuses to say what they are
- Pupils at North Primary School in London banned from watching eclipse
- Parents accused the school of going 'back to the dark ages' with decision
- Interim head teacher Ivor Johnstone cited 'religious and cultural concerns'
- But he was unable to elaborate because of 'confidentiality', one parent said
- Ealing Council confirmed it was investigating claims made by parents
Pupils
at a primary school were banned from watching today's
once-in-a-generation eclipse because of 'religious and cultural
reasons', it has emerged.
Parents
of children at North Primary School in Southall, London, said they were
'outraged' by the decision and claimed it showed a triumph of
'religious superstition' over scientific education.
Phil
Belman, whose seven-year-old daughter goes to the school, met with
interim headteacher Ivor Johnstone who said he was unable to elaborate
on the decision because of 'confidentiality'.
'It's
just going back to the dark ages really. My child went in having spent
an hour preparing and making up her pinhole camera,' said Mr Bellman.
Parents of children at North Primary
School said they were 'outraged' by the decision to ban children from
watching the eclipse, pictured is Mohammed Babar with his daughter
Zahra, five, and neice Noreen, seven
'This
is an issue about scientific matters versus religious superstition. I
am outraged — is it going to be Darwin next? We will be like mid
America.
'I
asked the headteacher to elaborate which religions and which cultures?
But he said it had to be confidential. He referred us to the formal
complaints procedure.
'What
is the head's future after all of this? I consider this totally
unacceptable. I think he should be considering his position.'
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Many parents voiced their concerns at the fact they had not been informed of the 'last-minute' decision by the school.
Khairoe Islam, whose son goes to the school, said: 'I'm Muslim myself and in my religion it doesn't say we can't watch it.
'I
don't know anything about it but if they say it's because of religion
maybe they could have spoken to those people who had a problem and let
the other kids enjoy it.
'It shouldn't be spoiled for the rest of the school.'
Pupils at North
Primary School in Southall, London, were banned from watching today's
once-in-a-generation eclipse because of 'religious and cultural reasons'
Phil Belman, whose seven-year-old daughter goes to the school, said the decision was like 'going back to the dark ages'
Harpreet Kaur, whose siblings go to the primary school, said: 'The school didn't say anything to us.
'They told the children it was for religious and cultural reasons and they were told they couldn't see it outside.
'I
don't think it was made very clear, even to the teachers. A friend of
mine who is a teacher at the school said she didn't understand it.
'I think it was quite a last-minute decision.
'It's a shame because even though it was cloudy there is still the excitement of going outside and having a look.
'There's quite a large Muslim community in the school and someone said it has something to do with that.
'I did some reading up on it but couldn't find anything. Maybe it's some obscure reason.'
Mr
Johnstone admitted pupils had been prevented from watching the first
solar eclipse of this century after 'religious and cultural concerns
associated with observing one directly' were raised.
It
is not yet clear exactly what these concerns are, but Christian
ministers have raised fears that this eclipse could signal the end of
the world, or a judgement from God.
Some Hindu scriptures say that an eclipse makes believers impure.
And
fundamentalists believe that they need to bathe immediately after an
eclipse and chant the name of God to overcome the forces of darkness.
Headteacher Ivor Johnstone said he was unable to elaborate on the decision because of 'confidentiality'
The
headteacher said: 'The school made this decision when we became aware
of religious and cultural concerns associated with observing an eclipse
directly.
'Although
we are sorry for any disappointment, pupils were still able to watch
the eclipse on screens in classrooms. However, the overcast conditions
in West London today meant they would not have been able to see it live
in any case.'
Mohammed
Babar, whose five-year-old daughter Zahra is a pupil at the school,
said: 'There is no cultural reason that I am aware of. If that's what
they said then it would surprise me.'
Ealing
Council confirmed the pupils were not allowed out of their classrooms
but said they were able to see the eclipse on TV screens.
A
spokesman said the council was currently investigating the claims and
asked the school for further clarification about why the children were
prevented from watching the eclipse.
Parents of children at North Primary
School in Southall, London, said they were 'outraged' by the decision to
prevent children from watching the eclipse
North Primary, which is not a faith school, describes itself online as 'multicultural with a welcoming ethos'.
In the summer of July 2014, complaints made by a number of teachers led to an investigation by governors of the school.
Sometimes known as Little India, Southall is a diverse community in west London with a large Hindi population.
The school has 407 pupils on roll and around 97 per cent speak English as an additional language.
A substantial minority of them are refugees and there are a few pupils from traveller families.
The
news from Southall comes after it emerged that school children across
the country were forced to watch the eclipse on TV due to safety fears.
The
decision by head teachers angered parents, who wanted their children to
experience the rare celestial event without sitting in front of a
screen.
Oldway primary school in Paignton, Devon, is one of the schools which came under fire for keeping children inside.
Head
teacher Jane Smythe said she had 700 children to look after and she
'could not guarantee that they would not look at the sun'.
Isabel
Stevenson, a mother-of-four from Glasgow, added: 'So not happy about
secondary school my kids go to doing NOTHING for solar eclipse tomorrow!
Livid and furious. I'm on a mission today.'
North Primary School, which is non-denominational, is rated as outstanding by Ofsted.
Its
cultural policy states: 'We are committed to an inclusive ethos based
on the respect for and positive acknowledgement of ethnic, cultural and
religious diversity.
'We
strive to prepare all pupils for living in a multi-cultural,
multi-faith and multi-ethnic society and are committed to promoting race
equality in all dimensions of the school's life and community.'
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