Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the apex decision-making body representing the Catholic community in India, has issued a 13-page guideline and instruction document for all educational institutions under its jurisdiction.
The guidelines aim to address the “emerging challenges due to the current socio-cultural, religious, and political situation” in the country. The CBCI represents approximately 14,000 schools, 650 colleges, seven universities, five medical colleges, and 450 technical and vocational institutions.
The guidelines come against the backdrop of recent attacks and protests against principals and staff of educational institutions run by the Christian community. One of the most recent incidents took place in February when a group of Bajrang Dal activists staged a protest after a teacher of a private Christian missionary-run school in Tripura allegedly prohibited a student from wearing a wristband adorned with a Hindu symbol and confiscated it. The same month, a radical Hindu group in Assam gave Christian schools in the state a 15-day ultimatum to remove all Christian symbols and religious habits worn by priests, nuns, and brothers on their campuses.
The guidelines emphasize respecting all faiths and traditions and not forcing Christian traditions on students of other religions. They suggest that students recite the Preamble to the Constitution during the daily morning assembly, promoting religious and cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity among students and staff members. The guidelines also recommend training on inclusive practices to create a welcoming and harmonious work environment in educational institutions.
The CBCI has also highlighted the importance of strengthening security in educational institutions. The guidelines suggest implementing physical security measures to control access to school buildings and grounds, such as locked doors, entryway security systems, visitor check-in procedures, and surveillance cameras.
According to Father Maria Charles SDB, national secretary of CBCI, “The church is watchful and sensitive to such situations,” even though he didn’t want to draw any connections between these separate incidents. He further added that the church has been teaching students the Preamble for many years, not just now.
The guidelines also recommend displaying the Preamble to the Constitution at the entrance to the main school building and making students recite it during the morning assembly. The CBCI has asked schools to promote religious and cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity among not just school students but also staff members. It further suggests training on inclusive practices to create a welcoming and harmonious work environment in educational institutions.
In fact the resolutions of CBCI conclave was reported in the Indian Express on 04 April 2024 much before the Church-institutions knew about it. The Indian Express report caption is :Recite Preamble, don’t force Christian traditions: Catholic body to its school.” The report link is: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/recite-preamble-dont-force-christian-traditions-catholic-body-to-its-schools-9250069/
It’s quite surprising that the Indian Express had the detailed news on the CBCI resolutions, more specifically “13-page CBCI circular!” Very good journalism I must say.
Why has the CBCI restricted its recommendation only to (1) display of the Preamble to India’s Constitution at the main school gate (2) Regular recital thereof during the morning assembly?
What about the study of the Indian Constitution in our schools, colleges and universities on a continuous basis in easily understandable modular forms (short series) – especially a series on our Fundamental Rights and Duties? The short series could be designed as say 20 series for primary schools (4-5), 30 series for secondary schools (6-10), 35 series for higher secondary schools (11-12), x number of series in colleges & universities. All the series should be sequential with provision for recapitulation on previous lessons. Handouts or soft copies in English and vernaculars could also be provided. For the whole exercise, expert assistance of lawyers must be taken and provision of their fees be made by CBCI or respective Diocesan Finance Committee.
Several good recommendations have been made by the CBCI. Unfortunately CBCI website doesn’t show the 13-page recommendations .whereas several news media namely the Indian Express, NDTV, the Telegraph Kolkata are privy to these recommendations. The Laity wants to know the contents of the full 13-page recommendations.
Why has the CBCI restricted its recommendation only to (1) display of the Preamble to India’s Constitution at the main school gate (2) Regular recital thereof during the morning assembly?
What about CBCI recommending the study of the Indian Constitution in our schools, colleges and universities on a continuous basis in easily understandable modular forms (short series) – especially a series on our Fundamental Rights and Duties? The short series could be designed as say 20 series for primary schools (4-5), 30 series for secondary schools (6-10), 35 series for higher secondary schools (11-12), x number of series in colleges & universities. All the series should be sequential with provision for recapitulation on previous lessons. Handouts or soft copies in English and vernaculars could also be provided. For the whole exercise, assistance of expert lawyers (not half-baked) must be taken and provision of their fees be made by CBCI or the Diocesan Finance Committees.