By Varghese Alengaden

Indore, Dec 7,2021: Although I had suggested many practical proposals of crisis prevention and management in my previous articles I feel it worth repeating many of them. I suggest the following practical tips after experimenting and found fruitful over last three decades.

• Start interfaith prayers in the school assemblies and boarding houses to promote the pluralistic spirituality (You may make use of the book ‘Sangam’ with selected readings from eight different religious scriptures).

• Display the preamble of Indian constitution in all the prominent places in the institution and class rooms. It contains Gospel values.

• Stop saying traditional Christian prayers in the schools which have majority of teachers and students of other faiths.

• Organize Alumni Association in the schools and colleges and make it more effective that these ex students may come forward to defend the institutions in difficult times. Create emotional attachment to their alma mater.

• Value education classes should be converted to leadership training of students with the values enshrined in the Constitution. Use motivational films suitable for this purpose.

• Give exposure and leadership training to selected student leaders with the help of USM, Indore ( It is successfully experimented over the last 30 years)

• Form Peace Clubs with high school students in every school and delegate committed teachers to mentor them.

• Have a full time co-ordinator for value education in the school who would also act as mentor of the peace clubs.

• Give orientation and motivational seminars for the teachers as often as possible.

• Take parents into confidence by giving them motivational orientation to develop a partnership with our institution.

• Principals and community members shall visit the families of students with proper planning. Guidelines shall be given to all who are going to visit the family of children. Building trust of people is the purpose of these visits.

• Principal and all community members shall learn the ways of building public relations to create positive image of the institutions by net working and collaborating with other institutions and organizations to be ‘slat ‘and ‘light’ of the society.

• It is time for abandoning the routine transfer of principals and members of the community. By this routine practice relationship with people gets disconnected and trusts of people are lost.

• Participate in the local meetings organized by other institutions and organizations. This will provide opportunity for people to know the life and work of church personnel. Do sufficient home work before going to join such meetings. Make this a top priority.

• Have a competent legal advisor for the school who is respected by the public and local administration. He will also work as the chief of the Public Relations of the institution.
(More details are available in the booklet: “Paradigm shift in evangelization: Put new wine in new wineskin”. (published by USM).