00:00The Presbyterian Church is tonight defending its name against attacks from some quotas,
00:05alleging that the church is engaging in religious intolerance.
00:09The allegations come amid two incidents now in the public domain regarding the celebration
00:14of non-Presbyterian observances at the board schools.
00:18In the first instance, a leaked memo from the Presbyterian Secondary Schools Board reminds
00:23all school administrators that, quote, only Presbyterian denominational celebrations and
00:29other related doctrinal celebrations would be allowed on the church school compound,
00:34while other non-Presbyterian religious celebrations would take the format of educational observances,
00:40end quote.
00:41The Presbyterian Church tells TV6, like all denominational school boards, it reserves
00:46the right to adhere to its ethos.
00:49You cannot go to a Hindu school and have a Presbyterian worship, for example.
00:56You cannot go to a Muslim school and have a, you know, a Presbyterian worship service
01:01in a Muslim school.
01:03You know, I don't think that those denominations would find that appropriate.
01:09And so, you know, it's the same thing.
01:11In our Presbyterian schools, we would have Presbyterian worship services, and if we want
01:19to observe other religious festivals, it would be in a nature that is more educational
01:26rather than actually having, you know, a religious ceremony in the school.
01:32The communications manager explains that the incident stemmed from activities which took
01:36place at one of its secondary schools, which some parents took issue with.
01:41As Presbyterians, we are very uncomfortable with having, you know, Murtis in the school
01:51compound because it goes against some of the fundamentals of our Presbyterian faith.
01:58But the Presbyterian Church says it respects and welcomes children of all religious backgrounds.
02:04If you check many of our Presbyterian schools, you'll find that, especially in our primary
02:09schools, the minority of students are Presbyterian.
02:15You know, the larger majority of our students actually are not Presbyterian, and, you know,
02:21we're welcoming to all religious affiliates, you know, that discrimination in our schools
02:28is not something that we tolerate.
02:30However, the Presbyterian Church is not taking responsibility for the second incident.
02:35Regarding a memo that was sent by a school supervisor to the principal of the Pinal Rock
02:39Road Presbyterian School, stating that students could not wear traditional apparel to school
02:45on Diwali Eve.
02:46It was the guidance that was received from the supervisor in that district.
02:53So I mean, we, the Presbyterian Church, you know, we don't have any issue with, you know,
02:59children coming to school in their Indian way, you know, especially to celebrate Diwali.
03:03And a lot of schools, Presbyterian schools, did have that in their schools, but that particular
03:08school did get the memo from one of the supervisors.
03:12And so the principal just, you know, just followed the instructions.
03:16The Minister of Education has stated that the ministry has no policy restricting cultural
03:21wear at school and has given an undertaking to look into the matter.
03:26Vanessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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