National Consultation on Catholic Education Policy,
Some Random Reflections

By Averthanus L. D’Souza
Sep. 07, 2006 (cbcisite.com)

The National Consultation convened by the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture in New Delhi on September 3rd., 2006 was an enlightening experience, beside being intellectually stimulating. Coming as it did, on the heels of several regional consultations, and bringing together eminent educationists from all over India, it provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of insights to enable the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture to prepare a text of the national Policy, which will be both relevant as well as challenging for the entire educational system in India.

Relevance of a new Catholic Education Policy for the Church in India

Few of the participants at the meeting were consciously aware of the fortuitous advantage of having a CBCI Commission for both Education and Culture. Education and Culture are more intimately linked than is publicly acknowledged. India is in the throes of a cultural crisis (as is the rest of the world), and education provides the best instrument to give a direction and a purpose to the development of the new evolving culture.

Most of the participants strongly felt that, in the context of these profound cultural changes, the draft of the Education Policy, as circulated at the meeting, was grossly inadequate. In the small group discussions, as well as during the intermissions, individuals expressed strongly, and sometimes with brutal frankness, that the draft did not meet with the expectations of the Consultation. It was inward looking and gave the impression that we should have “more of the same.” The reports of the discussion groups which were presented at the Plenary Session were toned down in keeping with diplomatic convention in order not to ruffle any feathers.

Paradigm Shift and Thinking Out of the Box.

We heard repeatedly about the need to make a “paradigm shift” in our educational system. However, there was no evidence whatsoever in the draft document of any such paradigm shift. In fact, the focus of the draft policy document was limited to schools and the formal schooling system. There was no indication of any intention to create an education policy for the entire educational mission of the Church in India, including higher education, professional education, education of the physically and mentally challenged, and service to those who, for reasons beyond their control, can never become part of the formal education system in the country. In response to strong pressures, there was a reluctant agreement to include in the Policy Document, an ‘appendix’ or an addendum to address the concerns of the Colleges and Specialized Institutes of Professional education.

The advocacy of a “Paradigm Shift” by persons who are themselves deeply entrenched in the traditional system of education is unconvincing and appears limp and unenthusiastic. What is needed is a radically new and creative approach to education. In order to be able to “think outside the box,” one has to live outside the box. It is simply not possible for persons who have inhabited the “box”, and who have spent their entire academic lives inside the box, to “think outside the box”.

In the field of warfare, all the great Generals from Alexander the Great, Darius, Xerxes, Hannibal and Julius Caesar, through the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte up to our own days of Rommel, Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and Patton have become totally irrelevant – not because they were not good Generals, but because the very nature of warfare has undergone a complete change. In a world of guerrilla warfare where there are no uniformed men and designated areas of combat; where terrorists strike wherever and whenever they find most convenient, the deployment of traditional armies with traditional structures and equipment and outdated rules of warfare, simply do not make any sense. As can be seen, the casualties are mostly innocent civilians, including children and women. Formal war has become totally irrelevant. In today’s world there is not even a formal declaration of war. It has now become an accepted fact of life that bullets and bombs cannot destroy ideologies and fundamental convictions. Military warfare has got to yield to diplomacy and negotiations.

The present crisis of culture, similarly, is qualitatively different from what the world was accustomed to. The traditional system of education, based on formal instructions, huge physical infrastructure, rigid curricula, institutionalized teaching systems, are slowly becoming obsolete and irrelevant. It is like sticking to screw-driver technology in a world of robotics, or of insisting on the use of typewriters in an age of computers. In the new world of cyberspace and access to information via internet, it is a bit antediluvian to insist on memorization of information

In his most stimulating book, “The Crisis of Western Education,” ( Sheed and Ward, 1961 ), Christopher Dawson observes that “We must face the fact that the vast expanse of man’s external powers by science and technology which are the creation of human reason have done nothing to strengthen the power of reason in the moral order which is its proper domain. For the moral order and the technological order have become out of gear with one another, and as the technological order has advanced and become stronger, the moral order has grown weaker.” ( Pg. 194)

Transcendence and the Spiritual Dimension in Education

It became evident in the course of the discussions, that the Consultation wanted a much stronger emphasis to be given to the doctrinal basis of the involvement of the Church in the field of education. The Church is not involved in education merely as another service to the community. Education is of the very essence of the Church’s Mission – and this education is oriented towards making men and women more fully human – physically, intellectually, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. The Church “cannot” limit herself to the intellectual development of the people she serves. Her “mission” is to humanize and to civilize the communities among which she exists. Hence, commercialism is antithetical to the very purpose of the Church’s involvement in the educational ministry. The members of the Consultation strongly urged that the Policy document start with a Preamble which provides the doctrinal and theological basis for the Church’s educational endeavour. The whole world must know the reason why the Church is so committed to education. The world must also know that the Church’s commitment is not limited to providing academic excellence and intellectual competence, but that the mission includes the “formation of character” and the grooming of men and women of the highest moral standards who will help to infuse ethical values into the world of business and commerce, as well as into public administration and politics.

Social Transformation.

The Church understands her mission in education as a means of social transformation. The education provided in educational institutions run by the Church must necessarily have an impact on Society. The promotion of Social Justice is an integral part of her educational mission. Hence the removal of unjust social, economic and cultural structures which prevent the full human development of men and women
is very much part of the educational strategy of the Church.

Policy and Deadlines.

There was some concern expressed during the final Plenary session of the Consultation about whether the present draft Policy document was mature enough to be presented to the meeting of the Standing Committee of the CBCI which was scheduled to take place at the end of this month. The risk of rushing through a draft which was grossly inadequate, merely in order to meet a deadline, is that it will remain incoherent and disjointed. It will be like barnacles which attach themselves to the hull. It is far wiser to plead for more time in order to overhaul the present draft document to make it a true reflection of the stand of the Catholic Bishops of India. After all a Policy is an _expression of intent of those who proclaim it. The intention should be lucid and unambiguous to anyone who reads the Policy.

Finally, it should be remembered that the Church of Jesus Christ does not need to formulate a new Vision or Mission Statement. The Vision is the Vision of Christ Himself, and He has commissioned us to bring about the transformation of individuals and societies in accordance with His command. Our task is limited to planning strategies and redeploying our resources to make our work more effective and more relevant.

Averthanus L. D’Souza,
D-13, La Marvel Colony,
Dona Paula, Goa 403 004.

Tel: (0832) 2453628.