For years, independent Islamic schools have maintained their best performances, making headlines here and there for being successful, highly-achieving, and inspiring educational institutes.
Joining the honor list, a Southern Ontario Islamic school has ranked top in Fraser Institute report.
Ajax’s Islamic Foundation School (IFS) came first in the Durham region in Southern Ontario in English and math.
The annual Fraser Institute Elementary School Report Card, based on data from annual province-wide tests in reading, writing, and math administered by the EQAO, rated the IFS 10 out of 10.
“We are of the opinion that any kind of testing can polish the academic skills of our students and use EQAO as part of that,” said IFS principal Viquar Ahmed, Toronto Sun reported.
![Students at the Islamic Foundation School in Durham on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network) Students at the Islamic Foundation School in Durham on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)](https://aboutislam.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ontario-Islamic-School-Gets-Perfect-Score-1.jpg?x89081)
“We do other things, such as enter speech competitions and spelling bees. We don’t want to live in a bubble, we want to have a good barometer so we can gauge our own standards.”
The private, not-for-profit school has been operating for five years. It has 182 students with an average classroom size between 15 to 18 students.
“We are blessed to have less students per class as it’s easier to concentrate on each child,” Ahmed said.
Success Story
Islamic schools have been making top records in the UK as well.
In April 2019, a Manchester Islamic High School for girls was rated outstanding for the third year running in its latest glowing Ofsted report.
Also in 2019, in November, eight Muslim faith schools were recognized among the top 20 schools in Britain for academic progress in 2019, in the published GCSE league tables for 2019.