Different types of Church School

In Tamil Nadu there are two types of school - those in which the teaching and learning are carried out in the Tamil Language, and those where the teaching and learning are in English. If children are going to progress to college or university it is important that they learn English, as this is the main language of study. If they are going to move around the country for work or study they will also need to know English, as Tamil is spoken only in the south of India. The Diocese of Vellore there are both Tamil and English medium church schools (and in the north some Telagu speaking schools). Usually the Tamil schools are in the villages and the English schools in the towns.

The Diocese has: 5 Higher Secondary Schools; 3 High Schools; 3 Matriculation Schools; 4 English Medium Nursery Schools and 100 Elementary Schools. The Christians in the Diocese of Vellore believe that it is important to help all poor children, whatever faith they belong to, so you will find that church schools contain more Hindu (and Muslim) pupils than they do Christian. However, the schools are all good church schools - there is a Christian assembly at the school every day, and all children are taught Christian stories and songs. The schools have a good reputation and are very popular.

At the bottom of the page you will find a selection of photographs of church schools.

Why don’t some children in India go to school?

In Indian law, every child is supposed to go to school until the age of 11. However, there are no school support officers to make sure that children get to school. There are really three answers to the question:

1) Because of poverty. If the family own a little piece of land, or a cow or some goats, the older children often need to look after this, while the parents go out to work for a much richer farmer. If a parent is sick, or has died, the family will not survive unless the children also go to work. Many children are employed making cigarettes, because their small fingers can roll these really well. In towns there are other sorts of jobs that small children can do – making jewellery, running errands, helping on building sites. These jobs don’t pay very well, but the money they bring in might make all the difference for a family. If you are a dalit, particularly from a Christian village, you cannot get a free education. Even the church schools cost a little money. School uniform is just a simple white shirt and school coloured shorts or a skirt, but these cost money too. Few children wear shoes to school. Some families have never had anyone go to school, so do not understand the need for education.

2) Because they are girls! Far less girls go to school than boys: even in the poorest families, boys are often treated like ‘little princes’ – partly because they are boys, which makes them ‘special’. Also, having a boy will mean that the parents can look forward to a secure old age. When a boy marries, his bride will bring a dowry ( a variety of gifts, including money, given by her family) with her to her husband’s home. She will look after her husband’s parents when they are old. A girl is just expensive – she will need to be given a dowry, or no-one will marry her, and then she will go away and look after someone else – her in-laws. So many of the poorest families ask what the point of educating girls is? Someone else will reap the benefits. It’s far better to use the girls for working in the fields or for looking after the younger children while the parents work in the fields!

3) Because of health issues. Here, if we are sick, we just ring up the doctor, make an appointment and go to the surgery. It’s not so easy in India. There are not surgeries in the villages. Even in towns, going to the doctor costs money. There aren’t free medicines. So if you are ill, your parents will wait to see if it cures itself, or maybe find some ‘village’ cure for you. Also, there’s not much knowledge about what causes illness, so people might get sick time and again, maybe from drinking very bad water. It might be some time before anyone decides that they really do need to find the money to take you to the doctor in the town. People don’t always understand about conditions that children are born with, such as deafness or cerebral palsy, so these children do not get a chance to have an education.

Does anyone care that they don’t go to school? The Christians are not the only people who care in India, but are actually the biggest group of people who try to change things. These are just some of the things that Christians in the Diocese of Vellore are engaged in:

• Schools: the diocese of Vellore runs as many schools as it can for the Dalit children. Fees are kept to the very minimum, and many children pay nothing.

• Many of the secondary schools that it runs have hostels where the children stay during term time. This means that children from remote villages can come to the schools to continue their education

• At least one school is working with gypsy families who live nearby. Gypsies have never received an education. This school makes sure that all the children get a lunch, even if they haven’t been at school that day. It also employs the gypsies to make garlands that the school give to visitors, thus guaranteeing a small income to the families.

• Some projects offer breakfast to children before morning school. In some town schools children may appear only at lunchtime to get their only meal of the day - the rest of the time they will be working with their parents.

• In many of the schools, parents are unable to help the children with their homework, because they themselves are illiterate.

• Some people donate things like school uniforms for poorer children

• There are schemes for sponsoring children at school, so they don’t have to pay the fees

• there are special projects to help girls get an education. One scheme run by the Church of South India offers evening classes to girls. If they attend for a certain number of weeks, the family get given a goat. The hope is that eventually the family will have a few goats, and get an income from these, so that the girl can then go to school.

Find out about what happens in Indian Church Schools

Double click on the small photographs for a larger version which can be printed or used with an interactive whiteboard.