Canberra's Islamic Taqwa School to expand to up to 600 students in Moncrieff

The number of Canberra children receiving an Islamic education is set to more than double with a new school slated for the Gungahlin region.

The existing Taqwa School is planning an expansion to Moncrieff to cater for 600 students from preschool to year 10.

The move to Moncrieff would see Taqwa School enrolment numbers explode over the next few years. Education Directorate figures show the existing campus in Spence has just 66 pupils enrolled from preschool to year four.

School board chair Hassan Warsi said increasing demand for primary and secondary-level education had sparked the decision to move.

The decision to expand was first announced early last year and made before the Islamic School of Canberra in Weston had its federal funding revoked.

The expanded Taqwa School would be the first of its kind in Canberra’s north and represent the first opportunity for ACT Muslims to receive a specialist Islamic education throughout high school.

“There’s a lot of demand in north Canberra – that’s why opening the Taqwa School [in Moncrieff] was approved,” Mr Warsi said.

“Parents and the community are eagerly awaiting the school’s move to Moncrieff.”

Once complete, the new Taqwa School will accommodate up to 400 preschool and primary pupils, 200 year 7 to 10 students and 75 staff members.

It will be built in two stages on a parcel of land wedged between Yidaki Way, O’Keefe Avenue and Hoffman Street, opposite Moncrieff’s group centre. A development application for the first stage of construction has been lodged with the ACT government.

Stage one will accommodate future preschool and primary school pupils and is expected to cost more than $5.8 million, according to the document.

Mr Warsi said he expected the first section of the school to be complete in 2018 or 2019, replacing the Spence campus.

The operation of the preschool and primary school grades will help fund the development of the secondary school section.

He said the new school would “operate on the principle of equality”.

“The school will be open to every member of the community,” he said.

Mr Warsi said the project’s progression was dependent on funding and resources, however, the board hoped to see the first stage of the new school open as soon as possible.

It includes plans for a permanent building for kindergarten to year 3 students and permanent preschool building.

A number of demountable buildings to house preschoolers, primary school pupils, an interim administration building and a temporary prayer room are also on the cards.

The Spence school will remain open until the Moncrieff campus is complete.

The ACT government has agreed in-principle to provide 99-year lease to Canberra Muslim Youth Inc, the organisation that runs the Taqwa School, to build the new institution. An estate development plan approved in April 2016 outlined plans for a private school in Moncrieff, alongside a park and two mult-unit developments.

The Education Directorate is expected to respond to Taqwa’s application to extend its registration to teach beyond year 4 by the end of this month.

The expansion comes as the Islamic School of Canberra faces an uncertain future after losing 80 per cent of its operational funds. The 207-student school has applied to have the decision reviewed.

“The submitted paperwork is extremely detailed and together with legal support the board produced a document that responds to all concerns in a logical and coherent manner,” principal David Johns wrote in the school’s latest newsletter.

“May our community continue their prayers that will hopefully result in a positive future for the Islamic School of Canberra.”