New multicultural private school opens in Winnipeg's Punjab Cultural Centre

The people behind a new secular private school in Winnipeg's Punjab Cultural Centre say they hope it will help promote understanding through multiculturalism.

CanAsia School chair Robin Brar says Canada is a diverse country, so education here should reflect that.

"I just want every kid to be taught in a fashion that they grow up with other kids in different cultures and with different values," Brar said.

"They'll be learning it from their childhood and when they grow up they will be better able to understand people from diverse [backgrounds]."

The independent school celebrated its grand opening on Saturday and will officially open its doors to students in September.

So far, about 45 students have registered and more applications are still expected to come in, Brar said.

While the school is located inside the Punjab Cultural Centre on King Edward Street, it's open to people from any background.

"We are a multicultural school and looking forward to every single community in Winnipeg [having] their kids enrolled with us," Brar said.

The school will start by offering classes from the nursery and kindergarten levels to Grade 4 but will eventually go up to Grade 8, he said.

The coming school year starts in Manitoba on Sept. 7.