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Media Release 21 January, 2004 | |
WCED, MJC comment on Friday prayers Joint Statement by the Western Cape Education Department and the Muslim Judicial Council The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) have agreed that there is nothing in any WCED regulation which infringes on the right of Muslim learners and educators to attend the Friday midday Jumuah service at mosque. Concerns were raised about this late last year when a Peninsula school principal notified his learners’ parents that the WCED’s circular no. 212/2003 made no provision for learners to attend mosque on Fridays, and that he could therefore no longer allow learners to do so. During a constructive and fruitful meeting between the WCED and the MJC last month the following points, among others, were established: The WCED has agreed to communicate with its schools to clarify the questions of contact time with learners and the religious rights of learners and educators. It will also devise guidelines for schools on adapting timetables to accommodate religious observance (including Jumuah), and will follow up the matter of the letter to parents which caused the recent misunderstandings. The MJC has agreed to communicate with Muslims to clarify the relevant aspects of religious observance, family responsibility, and the rights and responsibilities of Muslim educators and learners. The WCED and MJC call upon all concerned to work together in good faith to ensure that our young people continue to enjoy their full constitutional rights in both the education they receive and the religion they practise. | |
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