Defence committee Teachers drafted

Press, 28 March 1980, Page 13

Defence committee Teachers drafted

The three-pronged stab at secular education — State funding of church schools, religious courses at teachers’ colleges, and provision for more religion in State primary schools — has encountered very little public resistance, perhaps because othe implications have not been widely realised. One group has been formed, however, to resist the onslaught on the secular education principle. Called the Committee for the Defence -of Secular Education, it has more than 600 members and expects to double its size this year.

Its reason for being is not to oppose religion, but to oppose the teaching of religion in schools, C.D.S.E.'s chairman, Mr

Robert White of Wellington, is an elder of the Presbyterian Church at Mirimar. He and the secretary, Jack Mulheron. are both schoolteachers. Many of the members, including Mrs Margaret Corey, C.D.S.E.’s Christchurch spokesperson, are committed Christians. C.D.5.E. wants to see the extra religious lessons clause in the Education Act repealed. It would also like to see all in- ■ tegration agreements tabled for a month or so, so that the public can assess the effect they will have on the local schools. At present the agreements are all very secret, Mrs Corey says. C.D.S.E. is particularly concerned about the way in which it says “religious zealots” from the fund-

amentalist churches are offering their services to State primary schools as religious teachersl It is concerned too, about the danger that religious courses will lead to trainee teachers being accepted ip teachers’ college- on a quota system, according to religious belief sb many for the Catholic schools, so many for the Presbyterians, and so on. '

: “We can see these things as becoming very divisive in New Zealand society,” Mrs Corey says. She forsees the day when parents' who want their children to attend schools where religion is not taught will have to get together and start such a school — and then have it integrated into the State education system.

The Roman Catholic Church’s very understandable desire. to have the state meet the spiralling cost of educating its flock has brought religion into education at the teachers’ college level too. The Integration Act says that members of religious orders and others wanting to teach in integrated schools may apply for places at teachers' colleges and the colleges must provide suitable additional course options.

How this will probably be done is set out in a confidential draft statement prepared after a meeting last August between representatives of the teachers’ college councils, Catholic education authorities, and the Department of Education.

It says that the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) favours general courses in teachers’ colleges related to spiritual and religious issues, plus a time allowance for students seeking more specialised instruction of a confessional or dogmatic nature to be taught by part-time specialists, and paid for by religious groups. General religious courses (up to 200 hours over three years) would need to be broadly based and wideranging, dealing with the role and effect of religion in history, but they could give particular emphasis to the development of the Christian faith. A representative of the integrating schools should be on the

advisory committee established to develop these courses, the draft statement says. '

Optional courses in catechetical studies could be offered to those entering Catholic integrated schools. These could be taught by specialists “identified” by the school authorities. But the organisation of teachers’ college staff, the Teachers’ College Association, says its members are divided on the matter. It is sending out a questionairre asking whether they feel that devotional studies should be taught at teachers’ colleges, who should teach it and when and whether the ' college should recognise the resultant qualifications.