The British government has said it is investigating David Oyedepo’s
Winners’ Chapel International’s request to establish an independent school in
the country.
The fee-paying school, Kingdom Heritage Model School in Dartford, was
set to open to children from the age of four in September.
The school, which will teach “Biblical truths” in each subject, is
currently being considered by the British Department for Education. The church
itself is said to be under investigation by the Charity Commission.
Among those kicking against the church’s opening a school in the country
is the National Secular Society, an organisation that campaigns for the
separation of religion and state.
The NSS expressed concern that a school linked to the “controversial
preacher” was set to open in England.
In a letter to the Department for Education, the NSS had questioned the
suitability of the organisation to run educational establishments in the
country, raising concerns over both educational standards and child welfare.
In 2011, Oyedepo was, reportedly, captured on video assaulting a young
girl at one of his church service. The girl was alleged to be possessed by some
evil spirits.
In 2012, the Metropolitan Police stated that children believed to be
possessed by evil spirits or believed to be witches are at “clear and immediate
risk of significant harm.”
In considering the school’s registration, the NSS has also asked the DfE
to look into the details surrounding the death of a three-year-old child who
drowned in the toilets of a Kingdom Heritage Model School operated by Winners
Chapel in Nigeria in 2012.
The NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans, said, “Given this Church’s
association with belief in witchcraft and the actions of its leader, we hope
the department will give serious consideration to the reliability of the
school’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.”
According to the rights advocacy group, the proposed school acknowledges
“God as the sovereign and only wise God in all affairs of life and learning,”
and believes the Bible to be the ultimate source of wisdom.
When our correspondent contacted the church through phone numbers
provided on its website, one of the respondents said he was a technical person
and as such could not comment on the issue.
But another staff of the church, who refused to give his name, said the
allegation was “a scam, it cannot be true.”
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