(December 30, 2010) Christian concerns should be addressed when implementing a federal
law on free and compulsory education, Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal says. Archbishop
Cornelio, who heads the Catholic Church in the state, led a Christian delegation to
the Madhya Pradesh’s state School Education Minister Archana Chitnis Wednesday. The
archbishop said the minister’s response was “very positive” and she agreed to accommodate
all “legitimate demands of the Christians” before implementing the act. In the past,
the central Indian state has ignored Christians in the discussions to formulate guidelines
to implement the Right to Education Act 2010, Church sources say. The law provides
for free and compulsory education to all children between six and 14 years. The law
provides for 25 percent of places in the first grade to be reserved for poor children.
Church groups fear the law would infringe on their right to manage educational institutions
without government interference. The archbishop said that Christians manage about
1,000 educational institutions in the state. The government has not “properly consulted”
most schools regarding the new law’s implementation. “The government has proposed
to pay only the fees for these children but that is not sufficient to provide quality
education to them,” the prelate said. The prelate said the delegation asked the government
to clear up confusion on such issues for the smooth functioning of minority schools.
Father Anand Muttungal, Church spokesperson for the state, said Christian educators
want more clarity on admission and other matters since several Church schools faced
attacks from rightwing Hindu groups “on frivolous charges.” The government sources
said the new guidelines would be out by Jan. 15.