Chinese-English school for P.E.I. on hold

A new private Chinese-English school planned to open on P.E.I.this fall has been indefinitely postponed.

The school was to have been a venture of the P.E.I. monks' religious leader, Master Zhen-Ru.

Students at HOPE International Educational Foundation were to learn in both Mandarin and English. The school had already hired a curriculum director and a Mandarin-speaking teacher.

'Details and resources in place'

But the CEO of the HOPE foundation Derek McEwen, who was also to have been the school's principal, returned to a job with P.E.I.'s Department of Education this past February.

"We have decided to postpone the opening of the school to a future date," said a recent email from the HOPE foundation in response to a CBC News inquiry.

"We would like to make sure we have all the details and resources in place before we officially launch the school. Thank you for your interest and support. We will inform you when the plan is finalized."

Hundreds of monks and nuns have come to live on P.E.I. since 2008, and have built large complexes in Little Sands and Uigg, with plans for another huge complex in Brudenell.

Along with an influx of Chinese immigrants, Mandarin has become the main immigrant language spoken on P.E.I., as it is in the rest of Canada.

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