...Christian Schools, India, and You?
David Wilcox, PhD, Director, International School Services for Asia and Latin America, ACSI
When Westerners hear of India, they correctly think of a rapidly developing democratic giant that is dominantly Hindu. But don’t let that generalization cover over the fact that in India there are millions of Christians, many fast-growing churches, and hundreds of Christian schools.
Indian Christian schools vary in quality, in evangelical vision and fervor, and in the ethnic and socioeconomic groups they serve. Some churches that have started schools have employed the most qualified teachers they have found in their area, even if those teachers are Hindu. These churches concentrate on after-school programs to reach the students and teachers in evangelistic efforts. In some of these schools, an ACSI teacher conference would need to begin by showing the Jesus film!
But in some states of India, especially the south, there are areas that are significantly Christian; and in the northeast region, which is surrounded by Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Bhutan, and China, there are several states that contain Christian majorities. Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya are the three states in northeast India that indicate in public records that their population is 70 to 90 percent Christian. In these three states alone, there are more than 500 Christian schools. Additionally, Manipur is 34 percent Christian. If you added all the Christians together in the northeast states of India, there would be over 3.6 million! Because the region has a believing population of this size, the majority of the teachers hired by Christian schools in those states are Christians.
Dr. Phuveyi Dozo, a Baptist church leader from Nagaland, recently wrote that many evangelical leaders in India are taking a fresh look at Christian school ministry. Dr. Dozo said that this movement is mushrooming. It is serving the high, middle, and low classes such as the Dalit, who are called “untouchables,” and what the government calls “other backward classes.”
When Indian Christian schools were asked what Christian schools in other parts of the world could do to help their brothers and sisters in Christian school education in northeast India, the following were the suggestions:
- Send a team of teachers to conduct teacher training from a Christian perspective. Many teachers in India do not have formal teacher training.
- Partner with some of the promising schools to create model schools to improve quality in the region. There are significant needs for facilities such as libraries.
- Invite a Christian school administrator from India to come to your school to learn how your school carries out Christian schooling.
- Promote cultural exchange programs among students.
- Sponsor less-privileged children so that they might have access to Christian schooling.
The schools in northeast India use English as their language of instruction although most students speak a regional language at home. Many of the schools also provide boarding for students living farther from the cities, following the British tradition. Although British influences are common in India generally, in the northeast the education system has American and Canadian aspects because of the origin of the original Baptist (in Nagaland) and Presbyterian (in Meghalaya and Mizoram) missionaries who planted churches.
Pray for the Christian schools and teachers in India. Dr. Dozo specifically asked that we pray for teacher commitment and dedication. “Teaching is viewed as a low profession in India,” he wrote. “They need to know that teaching is a noble and high calling since they build the nation and exemplify holiness.” Also pray about whether the Lord would have you, your school, or ACSI play a part.
“The time is mellow for India,” wrote one Christian school leader from northeast India. “Christian [school] education has an excellent reputation throughout India…. I believe that people who are specifically called into Christian educational ministry must prayerfully come together to address this opportunity for the glory and extension of the kingdom of God.”
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International Ministries: The Time is Ripe