Archbishop Peter Machado on Thursday asked the government of Karnataka to inquire about the number of students who have studied in Christian schools and converted to Christianity in the past 100 years, while defending the institution, which reportedly insisted on wearing or studying of the Bible as part of the curriculum. He said the institution provided Bible or religious classes for Christian students before or after school hours, and such a practice that required them to carry the Bible with them existed in the past, but not now.
Clarence High School, which has been notified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said it has sought the opinion of legal counsel to respond. “…there is nothing like the Bible or religious education. We give everyone the same education. We cannot distinguish between spirituality and morality,” Machado told reporters here.
He noted that 75 percent of students studying at Clarence School are Christians, he said, “it was ordained that the Bible be brought because in our Christian institutions we have religion classes for Christian students, either before or after class. ..” “However, from last year management has made sure there is no mention of the Bible at all and so the kids can bring them if they want,” he added. Referring to the Education Department’s order to conduct an investigation to determine whether the Bible was being used and religion taught in schools, the Bishop said: “It is not just about this school, but all Christian schools in karnataka. It is not right to take it from one school and paint all the schools the same color.” “If the government wants to investigate, you should certainly investigate this school, and one of the questions they should ask is how much students have converted. how many of them have become Christians in the last hundred years,” he added.
There are also allegations that the school has asked parents to agree that they have no objection to their children’s study of the Bible. Some parents objected, after which Hindu Janajagruti Samiti lodged a complaint with the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, BC Nagesh, requesting an investigation.
The school’s principal, Jerry George Mathew, said the allegations of conduct other than voluntary endorsement of the school’s discipline and culture are merely an “unfortunate misinterpretation.” the timing of admission is by law only, he said, adding that “we also took the considered opinion of our legal counsel to respond to the legitimately issued show cause notice by the Block Education Officer.” †
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