Summary of the
discussions and talks of the Conference on Higher Education in Kerala held on
June 30,12
H.G. Mar Aandrews Thazhath,
in his Presidential address, talked about the hesitations and questionings in
the minds of many people with regard to the role of the Church in the field of
education when the Church is being opposed by people hostile to its ministry in
the educational sector.
He found the answer to such hesitancies in the words of Jesus
when He asked his disciples to teach and to heal. As it is the primary duty of
the Church to teach and to heal, it would always get involved in the field of
education and never run away from its responsibility in this field. Even though
for a time the Church experienced a lot
of hardships in the running of its institutions, later the role of the
Church was acknowledged because it stood by certain principles and also was
functioning within the ambit of the protection given by the Minority Rights
enshrined in the Constitution.
He bemoaned the lack of autonomy for colleges and the absence
of Deemed universities or a Private University in Kerala. Explicating the Educational
policy of the CBCI as detailed in its Document
in 2007, he mentioned the need for Quality, Values and Affordability in our educational system.
Quoting the words of Pope Benedict XVl, he said the purpose
of education is “to become what you are”. The Pope then defined that our
identity comes from being the children of God. So the purpose of education is
to make one a better person.
The Church cannot, hence, shirk its responsibility in the
field of education but has to continue to be present with vigor and enthusiasm.
The Major Archbishop
in his Inaugural Address emphasized the role of the Church in education as part
of its evangelical mission. The mission of the Church is to be a light to the
world and that mission has to continue unabated. He added that the Church had
played an important role in Education which was evident from the great
investment the Church put through men and material resources in the educational
development of India. The role of the Church to spearhead educational progress
has inspired other communities to work in this field.
H.B. wanted the participants to reflect on the educational policy
of the CBCI and examine their commitment in the light of the KCBC reflections on
that document.
He wanted the other Churches too to reflect on their roles in
the light of these documents so that a common policy can be arrived at.
H.B. mentioned the need for an annual conference to evaluate
our role and ministry in the field of education
and asked the participants to
express their views openly so that all can work with more conviction and
commitment in this field.
Justice Cyriac Joseph
in his key-note speech mentioned that the Church sees education as an agent of
transformation.
The importance the
Church gives to education is seen from the fact that the church has invested
heavily in education.
These educational institutions are the result of our hard
effort and we should be proud of them. But there are some criticisms of the management
of these institutions. Those mistakes have to be rectified.
We are gathered at a time when there are a lot of people questioning
the role of the Church in the field of education.
He mentioned the recent observation of the High court with regard
to low pass performance of some of the engineering colleges. If the Catholic
colleges are in this group, ways have to be devised to improve their standards.
Are our young people capable of passing Civil Service exams?
He sees a slow diminution of the meaning of Minority rights
in some of the recent decisions of the court. No more it is possible to expect
the kind of protection that was available in the past.
Some may ask why the minorities should have special
protection when the majority is not endowed with such a protection.
But just because we experience difficulties, we cannot just
abdicate the protection that is given to us through the Minority rights.
We have to understand the content and breadth of the minority
rights. These rights make the minority not only to enjoy equality in law but
also in fact.
Our institutions are reputed for the high quality of
education .But this quality should be Christian. Quality should be shown as a
Christian value. There should be a training of the heart.
Our emphasis should not be on the beauty of the buildings,
but on the building up of the character of the students. It is the inner beauty
that is to be emphasized.
The Catholic institutions should never seek donations for
admissions or appointments.
We should never run our institutions abdicating our Christina
values.
We should also emphasize programs outside the
syllabus—Non-formal education should be given a role.
Organizations for the development of the Christina leadership
should be encouraged. KCSL, AICUF etc have to be re-energized.
We need more value-oriented teachers---Teachers' guilds and
Newman associations etc have to be promoted.
Catholic hostels have a role to play and they should be
promoted.
Teachers in private colleges should not be allowed to have
political roles. They should be free from party politics.
Abp.Mar Joseph Powthil,
speaking on the relevance of the Church in education emphasized the responsibility of
the parents in the matter of choosing the right method of education for their
children. Catholic education is a right that is given under the freedom of
religion. The parents have the right to send their children to Catholic schools
and convey their faith to the children.
The Church has a role to play for the society and it has to
work towards developing the integral growth of every human being.
It is the responsibility of the Church to give Catholic
education.
The Church has an obligation to the society to work for the
development of the people.
The special feature of the Catholic education is that it is
oriented towards the development of the whole person.
Marxian philosophy deals only with the material aspects of human life and
hence is one sided.
We have to seek our roots. Without knowing the roots, we
cannot be a part of the whole. The destruction of the roots would definitely
destroy the whole too.
We have to be always vigilant to protect our rights.
Dr. Babu Joseph
stressed the need for autonomy for the colleges of Kerala.
Introduction of autonomy will solve a lot of problems in the
educational sector. Certain level of excellence is needed in order for the
colleges to attain autonomy.
We have 374 autonomous colleges in 19 states.
The advantage of autonomy is that the colleges get administrative
and academic freedom.
There are also two other levels of University Education in
the planning of the Central Government: Deemed Universities and Innovative
Universities.
14 innovative universities are planned by the Govt.
In the session on Catholic Education—Principles and Values, Dr. Ruble Raj dealt with the values and
philosophy of Christian education.
Education is not just a cultural process; it is also a spiritual
duty.
Quoting the CBCI document of 2007, he mentioned that
education is a transforming process. This transformation is spiritual, liberal
and humanizing.
We have guided missiles but misguided young people.
Education liberates us from selfishness, egoism, narrow-mindedness
and superstition.
Five Cs of Education in the CBCI document:
Character formation, Competence,Conscience,compassion and
commitment.
The presence of a chapel in the campus adds to the Catholic
character of the college.
Gospel love should permeate the campus. It involves giving love,
sharing love and the recognition of human dignity.
Two cities as symbols—Nineveh and Tarshish.
Catholic colleges should be like Nineveh.
Abraham Kurien stressed
the need to train students for jobs that are suitable for their aptitudes.
Mad pursuit of professions erodes their values.
A One year separate
course is needed to make the students well prepared for the choice of their
careers.
Fr.Tomy Padinjareveettil, Dr.Joseph Framcis, Joseph Mathew,
Fr.Chalil ,Fr.Kariyil,Dr.Joselet and Prof.Menacherry intervened during the discussion on this matter.
Mr. P.T.Kuriakose intervened to say that there was a
perception problem and some of our institutions are seen as centers of
extortion. We have to establish our credibility. Evangelization is the mission
of the Church.
Prof .K. T .Sebastian pointed out the credibility gap at the
heart of our education ministry. He also added that because of the lack of
creativity, our colleges are stagnating.
The Major Archbishop wanted further discussions and
consultation on six lines of action and wanted small committees to work in six
groups to make their presentation on those six lines of actions.
The Six committees are the following:
Career Guidance and General Excellence
On line courses
Partnerships with Foreign Universities
Private University
Probity in Administration and Minority Rights
Ethical Values
Fr.George
Madathiparampil in his introductory speech outlined the main themes of the
Conference underlining the great contribution the Church made in the field of
Higher Education and stressed the need to move forward with a new vision,
retaining the great heritage of the past.He urged the participants to live
locally but to think globally. He also added that diversity is wealth but
division is the way to destruction.
Prof. Stephen Mathews
explained through a power point presentation prepared by Vince Marin of
Chicago the need for partnership Foreign
Universities.
Prof. Raju George
of Mary Matha College proposed the vote of thanks. Dr Beena Manoj of St. Teresa’s college coordinated meeting.
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