India has one of the most massive school systems in the world. At the tertiary (college) level, it has the world’s largest number of institutions. At both school and college levels, the quality varies greatly—as all of us know.
One of the major and most influential players in this field is the Catholic Church, which has a huge presence in education all over the world, and a very distinguished history. Its pioneering role and committed service in education in India is practically unmatched.
We look at what our schools and colleges are meant to do, are actually doing and where we fail. Instead of quoting dry statistics, we asked four experienced educators known for their wisdom, experience and distinguished service in the field.
I wrote to each of them:
“The goal of good education (as our Catholic schools and colleges are supposed to impart) is to form professionally competent, morally upright, socially conscious leaders who will not only lead good lives personally and professionally, but also make a difference for the better in society. This supposes that the student sees these values lived (not only taught) by the educators and practised in the school or college.
“Do we, Catholic educators, have and live this vision?…
“You are an experienced and visionary educator. Please share with us your vision of (Catholic) education, what a good school or college is in your opinion, what you see as the main tasks of an educator, what pitfalls you see in this ministry, and your suggestions to today’s educators.”
We are honoured to publish their replies, as four cover stories in this issue. Here are the four respondents:
Archbishop Thomas Menamparambil SDB is an unusual combination—a man of vision and wide experience known for his effective pastoral leadership as a bishop in the North East, and invited by universities who esteem his intellectual calibre. He speaks of the need to train effective leaders.
Sr Marian Mathew PBVM, with over thirty years of experience as a teacher and principal, and noted for her simple life and love for the poor, shares touching experiences from her years of service in education.
Brother Brendan CFC avoided all sweet talk, and told me simply that we have largely failed. His painful analysis of what went wrong, and where we need to act, can provoke us to meaningful action.
Mrs Rekha Mathews, a brilliant and committed laywoman working in a Catholic college, looks at the good things Catholic institutions do, some of our failures and what education can do.
Read and see. Education is the main ministry religious and many lay persons in India are engaged in. We can be real game-changers for vast numbers of students and their families, if we are visionaries, or fail them badly if we are mediocre, or sink to the level of a business, or forget why we run schools.
I must also confess that, while preparing this issue, I heard from a number of religious and lay persons that the quality of leadership in Catholic institutions has fallen. A real note of alarm, if it is true.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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