Church schools

Lately I came across Bishop Nikol Cauchi's article "Red light ahead" (December 13) where he warned that some Church schools may have to close down unless an improvement of their financial situation takes place.

The difficulties which the bishop qualified as disruptive were reviewed and traced to some parish pressure groups, to the Church-state relations since the 1980s and to lack of support by local councils, government departments and the media.

The accusing finger of default which has been plaguing our Church schools for too long cannot but be pointed also at the parents, especially those considered affluent but who fail miserably.

The Ministry of Education licensed the first private school in 1988 and since then many such schools have sprouted despite the high fees which are charged. They seem to thrive but we have not seen more Church schools opened or even any increase in the number of classes in existing Church schools.

So far as I know the only noteworthy exception is the case of St Jeanne Anthide Thouret Girls' Secondary School, in Gozo. It forms part of the Bishop's Conservatory complex and was the fruit of an initiative which resulted in pre-primary and primary classes being licensed by the ministry in 1995. The secondary school was licensed three years ago.

Apart from the reason for the chronic financial setback one often hears that lack of religious vocations is at fault and here one wonders why some solution has not yet been found to recruit more prospective teachers from among the laity.

To start with, with some goodwill it is surely not impossible to revise the Church schools agreement. The Church authorities should be allowed the freedom to charge reasonable and competitive scholastic fees. With an envisaged demand of an increased number of teachers needed for new schools or an increased number of classes one could contemplate the recruitment of youths who possess a propensity for a religious way of life but who, at the same time, for some reason or another, are reluctant to take vows to join a religious order.

These should be encouraged to render a service by qualifying as teachers and even by providing them with teacher training scholarships as an incentive towards a secure employment.

I feel that it would not be amiss to quote excerpts from the official texts of The Documents of Vatican II and precisely from the Declaration on Christian Education. The Holy Synod "asserts that the ministry of such teachers is a true apostolate which our times make extremely serviceable and necessary, and which simultaneously renders an authentic service to society".

"The Church is keenly aware of her grave obligation to give zealous attention to the moral and religious education of all her children."

"As for Catholic parents, the Council calls to mind their duty to entrust their children to Catholic schools, when and where this is possible, to support such schools to the extent of their ability, and to work along with them for the welfare of their children."

The Synod furthermore also proclaimed "anew a right already made clear in numerous documents of the Church's teaching authority, namely, the Church's right freely to establish and to run schools of every kind and at every level".

It is sad to see how an opportunity towards a wholesome Christian character formation achievable concurrently with formal educational curricula has degenerated into a lottery banality which continues to disappoint and estrange so many parents whose yearly applications for admission of their young ones into Church schools fail the draw repeatedly.