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  • 1 year ago
The Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago says it would like the public to know that it respects and welcomes people of all creeds at its schools. However, the Church says, it reserves the right to maintain its beliefs. The statement comes amid some controversy surrounding a leaked internal memo. Rynessa Cutting reports.
Transcript
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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