Education law violates rights: Andhra Christians

(April 23, 2010) An ecumenical body of churches in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh state has asked the government to protect Christians’ rights saying some provisions of the new education law violate religious minorities’ right to manage schools. The Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches submitted a letter last week to the State Council of Educational Research and Training urging it to ensure that right of the minorities are “not violated in any way” while implementing the law. While the new law that mandates free and compulsory education for children up to the age of 14 in all states of India, it also makes schools open to inspection by officials authorized by the state. The Christian churches that run some 3,000 schools in Andhra Pradesh said the law “makes it possible” for district educational officers “to interfere in the administration of a school leading to harassment.” “This will lead to unnecessary interference in the administration, fault-finding to demand cash” or put pressure on such schools they alleged. Asking minority schools to reserve seats also violates a court ruling, the letter noted, saying the Supreme Court has ruled that the “policy of reservation cannot be enforced in the minority educational institutions and the State cannot regulate or control the admissions in them,” the Christian body stated.