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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Thero plans religious curriculum : Developing "attitude" in schools Ven. Tissamaharamaye Punna Thero, Director Department of Religions National Institute of Education, is currently working on new content for religious studies in schools that he hopes will overcome the current decline in spiritual values among people. by Don Asoka Wijewardena The Department of Religions in the National Institute of Education in Maharagama has shouldered a heavy responsibility to train teachers belonging to various religious denominations for the development of religious education in all government schools scattered in the country. The Director, Department of Religions, Ven. Tissamaharamaye Punna Thero was interviewed by the Sunday Observer on objectives of the Department and its future plans. Excerpts from the interview: Q. As the director of the Department of Religions in the National Institute of Education what kind of role do you play and what kind of service do you provide to the schools as a whole? A: My principal role, as Director of Religions, has been to promote religious education in all government schools by training teachers on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam in which students receive spiritual education to enhance their lives. My Department is entirely responsible for curriculum development pertaining to religions stemming from Grade 6 to Grade 13. I have also prioritised to change primitive educational methods and have introduced effective and modern methods of teaching religions in co-ordination with all religious institutions in the country. Nearly 14 years I have been promoting religious education. Q: Has there been any improvement in school educational set up and religious educational set up for last 50 years? A: Dispassionately speaking the present religious educational set up in some schools leaves much to be desired because spiritual education needed by all students has not improved to the expected level. What I am saying is students attend schools and pass relevant examinations stuffing their minds with facts, but reliable values in their lives such as ethics and discipline have degenerated from the lives of students to a great extent. There is no dispute over the fact that since we got independence, there has been a lot of progress in the educational set up, but lack of effective religious education has brought about violence among students. Q: As we know there has been a degeneration of spiritual values in present day society. What are the root causes for this? A: Well there are two reasons for that. The present society has become so competitive that people forget the duty and purpose of their lives towards one another. The present educational set up has developed wisdom but not the spiritual aspect of the life. For instance, Sri Lanka has produced a number of luminaries in different fields such as scientists,professionals in law, medicine, engineering and even in space technology. What I fail to understand is that these professionals are academically capable of working but unfortunately they are spiritually very low in serving the society. Academic qualifications are needed for a certain period of one's life but spiritual education is forever for everybody to practise. Poor quality TV programmes have become a mean entertainment among majority of people in the country and it is the responsibility of both electronic and print media to allocate more time to have more effective programmes on the importance of spiritual education. Q: In most government schools breach of discipline has become common and principals are held responsible for this. What kind of programme have you implemented to rectify this situation? A: Breach of discipline in schools can be attributed to parents, negative role towards their children. Parents have a stupendous responsibility to guide their offspring in home environment by teaching how to respect teachers and elders. It is a common sight in today's society that parents, due to financial or social reasons, have become indifferent to the upbringing of their children. When parents neglect their responsibilities in character building of their children may go astray and it is too late for teachers to discipline them. I am aware that even some teachers are bent on setting bad examples to students. A new and effective programme on religious education has been designed by the Department of Religions under my supervision and in this programme a new method of teaching in attitude changing of students will be introduced shortly. Attitude development and attitude change in the school curriculum are of vital importance to make students to be good citizens. Virtue, compassion and kindness are not to be found among people in this society. For the sake of posterity we have to implement moral education in the school curriculum without delay. Q: Do you face any challenges as a Bikku in your role as Director of Religions in the National Institute of Education? A: So far there is no challenge as such because I work with all religious dignitaries with one common aim to fulfil the main objective. The ultimate goal is to enlighten all students the true worth of their existence and provide spiritual education to students in their respective religions. |
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