Moslems to establish school in former Catholic primary school

Moslems will establish additional programmes associated with Dunedin school

Friday, October 12th, 2012

Two weeks ago the Christchurch-based Al-Noor Charitable Trust announced it had bought the former St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in South Dunedin and intended to open a boarding school for about 100 year 11-13 boys by 2014.

It will be known as An-Nur Kiwi Academy (AKA), it will be the South Island’s first Islamic (Moslem) school and will accept pupils from overseas as well as those living in New Zealand.

The Trust has now announced it also wants to open an out-of-school programme for younger Muslim children in Dunedin.

Trust chairman Dr Mohammad Alayan said the trust wanted to begin education services on the site as soon as possible and planned to establish an Out of School Care and Recreation (Oscar) programme on the site early next year.

Oscar offers before-school and after-school care and school holiday programmes. Depending on demand, the programme could cater for up to 50 children, he said.

He said the reaction to the Trust’s plans had largely been positive.

There are more than 36,000 Muslims in New Zealand, including more than 500 in Dunedin. Most of those are University of Otago students or staff and their family members.

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