Fighting for Equity in Education

Broader Consultation Needed on the Future of the CIT Weston Site

Save Our Schools has made a submission to the community consultation on the ACT Government’s proposal to re-locate the Islamic School to the CIT Weston site.

The submission says that the site, as a publicly owned facility, should be retained for public education or other public uses and not handed over to the Islamic School. It recommends that a further consultation should be undertaken on the role this facility could serve in the broader context of the Molonglo Valley development and, in particular, to the future urban development of North Weston, Coombs and Wright.

The submission says that there are three significant issues at stake in the proposed re-location of the Islamic School to the CIT Weston site. One is the privatisation of a major government-owned education facility which otherwise could be used for public education and social purposes.

The second is the additional assistance to be provided to a single private school that is not generally available to other private schools and the consequent precedent created for future government financial support to private schools in the ACT. The other issue is the impact of another school in Weston on existing government and private schools in the region.

In addition, the current consultation is unduly narrow. It is limited to consideration of one option only. This is not an adequate or proper consultation on the use of a major facility. It appears to be governed by very short-term horizons rather than how best this facility might be used for the broader community interest in the long term.

Link to the full submission on Proposed Re-location of Islamic School

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