Students call for reform in theological training

Theological fraternities, especially the Senate of Serampore, one of the oldest universities in India, were called to move from notions of the mark-oriented academic programmes to transformative educational methods.

Over 100 students from the 37 Senate of Serampore affiliated colleges and seminaries in India and Sri Lanka earlier this month called for more fitting educational methods to train students as "agencies of God's image, voice and activity" in this world.

The Senate of Serampore, which confers its own degrees in the field of Theology, was asked to relook its programmatic notions frequently from the emerging needs of the society and its relevance.

The budding theologians demanded the Senate of Serampore to provide participatory rights to students in all its decision making bodies including curriculum revision. They also urged the Senate to facilitate all the affiliated institutions to have a work place policy on gender and sexual harassment.

In addition to that, they implored the need for a National Forum of theological Students for dialogue among themselves on issues pertaining to the church, society and theological education.

The Senate of Serampore College, which was founded by Baptist missionaries William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward in 1818, determines the qualifications for the degrees and diplomas awarded to graduates of more than 45 affiliated colleges.

Some 115 students had gathered at the United Theological College campus in Bangalore from May 5-8 for the national conference organised by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (BTESSC) along with the NCCI and SCMI.

The conference, held on the theme 'God of Life: Lead to Justice and Peace', saw theological educators and theologically trained social workers speak as resource persons.

The participants vowed to not only to serve the Church as pastors and church workers but also to serve the society at large.

Observing that the communities who live on the edges of the societies need to be made participants in mission, the statement said "mission in specific context as in India is imperatively interfaith and social action oriented" and therefore must move beyond specific faith and confessional and social traditions.