Jawed Anwar

 Note: September 1 is the deadline for submitting Notice of Intention (NOI) to start a new private school.

I SAW a poster recently that Madinah Islamic School located at Danforth/Donland is extended to grade 8.  It is now a K-8 school. It was not a long time ago; it was 2012, I was sitting in the Masjid office talking with the President and some other board members.  We were discussing and convincing how and why every Masjid should have their school.

That was the time I have written an article both in Urdu and English on Masjid School system. I was also struggling to find a place to establish a K -8 Elementary School. From September 2013, we both started Islamic Schools. Madinah Islamic School initiated with K to 4 or 1 to 4. They gradually increased and improved. Now they can accommodate up to eight grade.

Many other Masjids/Islamic Centers opened Islamic schools in Ontario during these years. The reason is known; the changing Ontario education system/curriculum from 2012 to 2015. Parents know that the children they are putting in the machine of Public education system may lose their gender, lifestyle and other moral behaviors.  If you hand and leftover your children to the school system without check, it means spiritual and moral death of the children.

Our children are inundating in the flood of evil and living in a toxic spiritual environment. If Masajid didn’t move forward to rescue them, it would be considered escaping from the responsibility.

Most of the Masjid Schools (except very few) are thriving and increasing the number of grades and students every year.

Building and renting schools are expensive, but you have a Masjid you can start now. There are following simple requirements starting a private school in Ontario.

Ministry policy requires that a private school must have the following:

• A principal in charge of the school;

• Control of quality of instruction and evaluation of student achievement;
• Control of the content of the program or courses of study;
• A common school-wide assessment and evaluation policy;
• A common procedure for reporting to parents;
• A common school-wide attendance policy; and
• A central office for the maintenance of student records.

Submission of the NOI: The submission of the NOI (Notice of Intention) is an annual requirement. All private schools that plan to operate in a given school year must submit the NOI by September 1 of that year. Schools that do not submit their NOI by this deadline cannot operate in that school year.

For further details Visit:

http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/privsch/index.html

And also consult any Masjid/private School in Ontario. They will love to help you.