“Jesus grew in wisdom, stature,
and in favour with God and men” (Luke 2:52).
“A good man knows the rights of the poor” (Proverbs 29:7).
“Those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God
has chosen” (1Corinthians 1:28).
This Catholic Education Policy seeks to clarify and stress the essential mission
of Catholic education in India today. For this, it mainly draws inspiration and
substance from the documents of the Congregation for Catholic Education, the statements
of the General Assemblies of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI),
and specifically the CBCI mandate of February 2006 to evolve an Education Policy
that focuses on providing quality and relevant education to the marginalized, especially
the children of our Dalit and Tribal brothers and sisters. The policy highlights
our duty to give serious attention to and deepen the authentic spiritual formation
of all our students and nurture the faith culture of Christian
believers. It also broadens the narrow focus on personal academic development and
emphasizes the holistic and fuller development that meets the challenge of modern
culture and society, and its demand for higher levels of competence. This makes
it imperative for us to bring about several significant changes in the planning
and organization of our institutions, so that our education retains its Catholic
identity and promotes genuine personal development and excellence.
It goes further. The policy advocates the equally essential social and societal
transformation, as a major goal and mission of our education. Being
Christian is essentially an invitation to become a person of faith, hope and love.
It is a summons to form communities of solidarity, and of justice and equality,
at the service of all people, especially the poor and the marginalized. As the CBCI
proclaimed in 2000, we are committed to “a new society built on justice,
peace, love and harmony: a civilization of love”. And we share
our hope with all our brothers and sisters (2.vii).
A key focus area in this policy is on the need for our Catholic institutions to
contribute actively to the betterment of India and its people, by sharing in
nation building. Developing micro models of communities of solidarity
across the many borders that presently divide us—like caste and creed and
culture—and make us less human is therefore a major objective of the policy.
Jesus showed us the way by proclaiming the Kingdom of God on earth by breaking down
age-old barriers of mind and heart, and all types of exclusion and discrimination.
In our apostolate of education, our goal, both as individual institutions and as
members of corporate bodies (the diocese/religious congregation/Church in India),
is to build inclusive human communities.
It is relevant to refer here to the enlightening words of Pope John Paul II, spoken
in the context of criticism for his conducting an inter-religious prayer at Assisi:
What unites is divine; what divides is not. Seen holistically as spelt out in this
policy, our apostolate of education fully participates in the mission of Christ
and is truly a spiritual ministry that unites the whole human family.
The life of Christ was an evangelising presence and action in the world, a ‘Good
News’ filling all people, especially the poor, with hope. In the pedagogical
context, this means providing a Transformative and Evangelising Education. Transformation
of self and others, of communities and societies, is a meaningful definition of
being a Christian. Through His life, values and attitudes, teachings and actions,
Jesus began to build a Kingdom Community, promoting the Reign of God on earth. His
was not just a spiritual presence, but a holistic presence. Jesus did not confine
the thrust of His ministry to the spiritual realm only. He extended it to the social,
cultural, economic, civic and political dimensions, in other words, to all aspects
of human life and living. This was an essential part of His ministry. Jesus was
deeply moved by poverty, disease, ignorance, greed, injustice, conflicts, and the
absence of love and forgiveness in the society of His time. Hence, His resolve to
be an agent of transformation. He was filled with a deep sense of compassion for
the world, for restoring the integrity of human society and the whole of creation.
This was His spirituality, a spirituality of being in communion with the Father,
and in solidarity with everyone on earth and every part of creation, beyond all
kinds of boundaries and divisions.
Our educational mission, in the context of India today and the India of tomorrow,
is the re-creation of human lives, communities and the wider society. In the past,
there have been many Christian contributions to the society in India. Our present
challenge is to build a New Society, to make another India possible, in collaboration
with all people of goodwill and their institutions and organizations. At this critical
juncture, all must work unitedly with the marginalized to build up a better future
for our country. Education has to enable the millions who have no name or face or
dignity and whom society treats as non-persons, to regain their dignity and self-worth.
The spirituality of communion and service that energized Jesus and gave His life
colour, energy and direction, urges us to wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to this
mission.
While focusing on our educational institutions, this policy is situated in the context
of the overall educational activities of the Church, which include the important
sectors of value formation, non-formal education, literacy, skill development as
well as conscientization and other forms of people’s empowerment. We want
all citizens to become literate, skilled and competent, socially aware and spiritually
motivated, and fully involved in the building of a developed and just society. This
policy thus highlights the right of all children, especially the marginalized, to
an education of relevance and quality.
A policy is a present decision for future action. If action does not follow,
a policy remains a dead letter, even if it is a well-worded statement. This policy
therefore presents some concrete guidelines to attain our educational goals. The
responsibility for internalising and then implementing it is placed squarely on
all the stakeholders — the management, principal, staff, students and parents
as well as the clergy, religious and the laity. Hence, in preference to “should”
statements we use “we” statements, which are binding nonetheless, while
urging regions and dioceses to formulate more detailed and relevant norms that are
mandatory in their own contexts.
This Education Policy is addressed to Catholics and all people of goodwill. Until
it becomes the shared Vision and Mission of the whole educational community, the
policy will remain on paper. Hence, it proposes a flexible monitoring mechanism
grounded on local realities, drawing strength from the support of all stakeholders
that will involve one and all in its creative implementation and further development.
The staff, students and parents are called upon to actively own the policy, be committed
to its goals and look at the institutions as their own.
This document is the fruit of much labour. The proposal for an All India Catholic
Education Policy came up during the national and regional consultations that were
conducted by the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture in preparation for the
CBCI General Body Meeting of 2006. The proposal was unanimously accepted by the
General Body Meeting itself, which had for its theme “Catholic Education and
the Church’s Concern for the Marginalized”. Having received this mandate
of formulating an education policy for India, the CBCI Commission for Education
has been concentrating on this task for over a year, seeking assistance from the
Commission for Justice and Peace and the Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes, and from individuals and groups with vast competence and experience in the
field of education, like the CCI, CRI, Xavier Board, AINACS, AICUF, AICU and others.
Very valuable suggestions have come from different regions, experts in various sciences,
and persons of exceptional commitment. We are grateful to them all.
I am particularly grateful to Bishop Charles Soreng, the former Chairman of the
CBCI Commission for Education and Culture under whose leadership the idea was launched,
Fr. P.P.George, who as Secretary has worked for two terms and has been with the
document from the beginning, and Fr. Kuriala, the new Secretary of the Education
Commission. We are deeply indebted to the Chairmen, members and Secretaries of the
Commission for Justice and Peace and the one for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes both old and new: Archbishop Chinnappa Malayappan, Bishop Peter Remigius,
Archbishop Dominic Jala, Archbishop Mathew Moolakkat, Bishop Gerald Almeida, Bishop
Yvon Ambroise, Bishop Mathew Arackal, (the late) Bishop Johannes Gorantla, Bishop
Thomas Ignatius Macwan, Fr. S. Lourdusamy, Fr. Nithiya Sagayam, Fr. Philomin Raj,
Fr. Cosmon Arokiaraj and innumerable lay persons. Special gratitude to Archbishop
Albert D’Souza and Bishop Thomas D’Souza, the present members of the
Commission for Education and Culture.
We appreciate the contribution of Bro. Mani Mekkunnel, the CRI National Secretary,
and the valuable assistance of Fr. John Desrochers. I am particularly grateful to
Fr. Thomas Kunnunkal, who drew up the first draft, readily revised it again and
again, cheerfully integrating various suggestions from every side. It has not been
an easy task to move towards a consensus. But when we approximate it, we feel immensely
happy. We are so glad that the apostolate of education is close to the heart of
everyone, and that a great measure of interest has been stimulated on the theme
during the recent debates and discussions. We hope everyone will recognize his/her
fingerprints on this document, and that it gives expression to some of our most
cherished dreams.
I am sure that the Catholic community and the wider public will accept this Policy
as an expression of the sincere commitment of the Catholic Church to serve the people
of India, especially the marginalized, through education.
Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, SDB
Chairman
CBCI Commission for Education and Culture
May 24, 2007