The Islamic School of Canberra's federal funding has been reinstated after it battled for more than a year to prove it was independent of the controversial Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
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The Weston school is now funded until the end of 2018 and expects that will be extended should it meet the ACT's own registration requirements - one of which relates to financial viability.
To ensure registration beyond this school year, the Islamic School of Canberra also needs to prove to the Education Directorate that it is teaching literacy and numeracy effectively and properly reporting on student outcomes.
Principal David Johns said the directorate had asked for clarity on how the kindergarten to year 7 school delivered the national curriculum on top of the Arabic, Islamic Studies and Koran classes typically offered within an Islamic education.
After partnering with the Australian Catholic University, the Islamic School of Canberra has extended its school day from 8.45am to 3.20pm, integrated Islamic Studies into mainstream classes and is developing a bilingual approach to teaching Arabic, such as during an English class.
"It's proving a wonderful bonus for our school," Mr Johns said.
"The kids are adjusting quite well. It's interesting with primary as opposed to secondary - in primary, you can't stop them going to school."
The reinstatement of funding is rare good news for the Islamic School of Canberra. Its funding was cut in December last year after a protracted battle to meet the federal government's strict reporting requirements related to governance and finances.
The federal Education Department had repeatedly raised concerns about the school's relationship with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, which was found in a 2015 federal government audit to have run schools for profit.
The Islamic School of Canberra previously rented from AFIC and borrowed several million dollars to tide it through a previous funding cut.
It has since cut ties with the organisation and is now linked with the Islamic Practice and Dawah Circle.
Board secretary Majharul Talukder thanked the ACT Education Directorate, the federal government and the Canberra community for their support during the Islamic School of Canberra's funding woes.
He noted the school's population had been boosted by an extra 50 enrolments this year, bringing its numbers to more than 200.
"The community is very supportive, very dedicated for the school," Dr Talukder said.
