BANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- The Church school is the visible sign of Christianity for most people in India, says a nun who heads a national association of these schools.

Bethany Sister Ann Teresa

Bethany Sister Ann Teresa, president of the All India Association of Catholic Schools (AINACS), says people would appreciate Christianity more if they could see these schools foster love, service, sacrifice and peace. They also expect Church educational institutions to impart moral values as well as quality education.

The nun recently spoke with UCA News about her association's plans to stress students' spiritual formation while teaching them life skills.

UCA NEWS: What are the challenges the Catholic school faces in India?

SISTER ANN TERESA: We have both internal and external challenges. Among the external problems, the toughest is the interference from the government. For example, the government in Karnataka (a southern Indian state) interferes in the internal affairs of our schools. We are not even allowed to recruit teachers in aided schools [that get government grants], but have to depend on whom the government supplies. Schools in other states also face similar problems. If teachers see their profession only as a job, the quality of our education will suffer.

Finding good teachers is a big problem we face internally. It is tough to get teachers who are competent, qualified and committed. Even if we get them, maintaining them with good salaries is another problem. Now, young people are more attracted to other fields that pay them well. Fewer people are opting for the teaching profession these days. A teacher's job is a real vocation and it had great dignity before. Now everything is measured by money and remuneration.

How do you assess the Church's work in the education field?

People see the Church and Christianity through our schools. If a common man wants his children educated in a Church school, it means he expects it to maintain certain standard and values, besides quality education. If they can appreciate our schools, they can also admire Christianity and our values. Our mission and vocation is to help them see Christian values of love, service, sacrifice, peace and tranquility in our schools. We would also spread these values among our children and their parents. On the whole, our schools seen in every nook and corner of our country have maintained this Christian identity that has helped millions of Indians to know Christ.

But at the same time, some people educated in Catholic schools have turned against Christians.

They are isolated cases. The vast majority of people have great respect for Catholic schools and they want their children educated in our schools. Maybe when they fail to get an admission, they turn against us. There are many incidences of people attacking Christian schools for this matter. We cannot admit every one, since we have to follow certain principles in admission procedures.

What are those principles? Is there a uniform policy on admissions to Catholic schools?

Yes, of late the Catholic Bishops Conference of India has brought out a national policy on education ministry. We are following it. According to this, Catholic and other Christian children get top priority in admission to our schools, followed by children from marginalized communities. So some people will go disappointed. They are the ones who often turn against us.

The bishops' conference also instructed against receiving admissions donations. Is this being practiced?

To a great extent, it is practiced. Only some city-based schools take donations in the name of a building fund. They are justified, since the management has to generate funds for giving better infrastructure and facilities. However, we have advised our member schools not to link it with admission, but to receive it as a "free gift" from parents who can afford it.

What have you done since taking over AINACS two years ago?

One of my greatest priorities is to bring out a "uniform formation policy" for children in Catholic schools. Our schools are credited with academic excellence, but actually what is expected of them is to impart holistic formation. Only when we fulfill this task can we claim we have provided quality education. Our new thrust is the spiritual formation of children.

Please elaborate.

Our next annual assembly's theme is Spiritual formation in schools and life skills. The meeting, scheduled Oct. 17-20 in Bhopal (central India), is expected to formulate a set of national guidelines to spiritually form children in our schools. One proposal is to teach about all major religions in schools. Another is to dedicate a "spiritual hour" in schools to practice Indian meditation and other common spiritual practices. Our schools also plan to celebrate festivals of all religions. We hope this will dispel the misunderstanding that we are interested only in spreading Christianity.

Some people already view Church schools as a facade for conversion. How will you overcome that perception?

Spirituality is different from religious formation. It is above religious boundaries, or if it is linked, we are proposing a multireligious spirituality in our schools. One priority is to teach not only Christianity, but also Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and other religions in our schools. This will help students to respect and appreciate other religions and accept their commonness. If we don't do it in schools, they will never imbibe the spirit of communal harmony later.

What are other topics for the national assembly?

Introducing life-skills formation is also another proposal. This would mean opening more avenues for children to improve life skills and thereby enhance their self esteem. Mere academic excellence does not bring real development in children. They have to grow holistically. Children now live in a stressful situation. They are not able to bring out their best because their parents have over-expectations. So, we should also work with parents and teachers to understand children better. We have to instill in students the sense of being children of God. This will enhance their self-esteem.

What are your other plans?

Our new stress is to network with schools managed by other religious communities. It is high time we come out of our secluded world and become part of the secular society. These days, the media influence children more powerfully than our schools, so we need to help the child become a responsible media consumer. So, media education will become another important priority in our school curriculum.

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