UK varsity scraps Islamic Studies course

LONDON,Dec 21, 2010 (PTI): A UK university has scrapped its two-year course in Islamic Studies due to lack of students enrolling for the lectures, prompting a petition for the subject to continue.

The Manchester Metropolitan University ran a two-year course on the religion and Middle-Eastern societies for the past two decades, but education managers now say that student numbers on the course are unsustainable.

More than 400 lecturers and students have now signed a petition arguing for the course to keep going, reports from Manchester said.

An MMU spokesman said there had been single-figure demand for the course for many years.

"It is very disappointing that this course has not been more popular. We do offer Islamic studies elements as a part of other politics courses but the demand for a single subject qualification is extremely low," he said.