Schools in Sydney Witness Increase in Enrollment of Muslim and Hindu Students: Is Australia’s Religious Profile Changing?

Schools in Sydney Witness Increase in Enrollment of Muslim and Hindu Students: Is Australia’s Religious Profile Changing?
  • Public schools have witnessed a rise in the enrollment of Muslim and Hindu students
  • According to survey by NSW Department of Education, about 20, 000 Hindu students have sought admissions this year
  • Shockingly, almost 30 per cent of the students have associated themselves with "no religion"

Australia , August 29, 2017 : Public schools in Sydney have witnessed a huge rise in the enrollment of Muslim and Hindu students while the population of Christian students is on a decline. This has been discovered by a recent survey by the New South Wales Department of Education, which revealed the growing figures of Muslim and Hindu students. According to the official data, the tally of Muslim and Hindu students enrolled this year has now touched 52,000 and 20,000, respectively.

The Rising Tally of Hindu-Muslim Students

Islam is the second largest religion of Australia, after Christianity, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism.

It was found that about 52,000 public school students now identify themselves as Muslim; a 2,000 person increase from last year's enrollment.

As per data, 445 out of 507 students at Punchbowl Boys High School are listed as Islamic while 91 percent students at Auburn West Public School have identified as Muslims.

The state is also the preferred location for most residing Hindus of Australia with over 20,000 Hindu students in the state- this makes for a 7 per cent increase than 2016 figures.

According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, last year about 50,000 Muslim students were enrolled in public schools while the figures of Hindu students stood at 18,600.

Students' Tally of Pupils Belonging to Other Faiths

In comparison to the two faiths, the tally of Anglicans has fallen from 105,300 in 2016 to 99,000 this year. Additionally, a fall has also been observed in Protestant, Baptist and Presbyterian religions.

While the tally of children identifying as Catholic (other) has also witnessed a decline, the figures of Catholic (Western/Roman) students enrolled in schools this year have remained unchanged at 103,000.

However, shockingly, over 230,000 pupils choose to associate themselves with "no religion". They make up almost 30 per cent of the entire student population of the state.

The high tally of children who do no associate with any religion has prompted parents and school authorities alike to define the structure of classes based on ethics instead of those in scriptures.

At present, about 30 per cent of the primary schools in the state offer ethics classes however they remain outside the domain of government funding.

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