3 October 2020 08:11 am
Eradicate politics from schools and let them become divine institutions which teach the children how to live according the ways of their religions, Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said yesterday.
Cardinal Ranjith who was speaking at a ceremony organised to mark the centenary of St Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, said that today, school principals and teachers have been forced to follow instructions of politicians.
“Politics crept into schools with the government takeover of private schools in 1960. School principals and teachers have been forced to follow the instructions of politicians, today. We saw how a politician got a teacher to kneel before a child and apologise after he was punished by the former. Schools have to be allowed to become divine institutions which teach a child to live according to the teachings of his religion. Politics should be taken out of schools,” Cardinal Ranjith said.
“ When we talked of banning tuition classes on Sundays the neoliberals began talking about the right of the child to go for tuition classes. A child has a right to go for tuition classes; doesn’t he have a right to engage in religious observances?” the Cardinal questioned. (Yohan Perera)