Tag: Education

Church body calls for equal education in N Nigeria

January 10, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, Christian Association of Nigeria, Education, Nigeria, Quran, Sharia, Yobe

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the north-eastern state of Yobe has appealed to the state government to introduce Christian religious studies in public schools. Despite the constitutional provision for freedom of worship, the teaching of Christian religious knowledge is prohibited by local authorities in Yobe and other northern . . . Read More

Survey of schools for Pakistan’s Christian minority: 50% have no playground, 15% no notebooks

November 25, 2016 Pakistan Education, Islamabad, Karachi, Punjab, Sweepers

Anser Javed’s father was a sanitary worker in Karachi; his mother was a sweeper. When his father then died in a work accident, the Pakistani Christian boy was sent to an orphanage as his mother was too poor to care for him. Nevertheless, with support and personal determination, he eventually . . . Read More

Anser’s story

November 25, 2016 Pakistan Education, Gujranwala, Karachi, Sweepers

China tightens grip on religion

September 23, 2016 China Education, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

The Chinese government has released a set of proposed amendments to its rules regulating religious affairs, as President Xi Jinping attempts to exert even greater control over how religion is practised. The new set of amendments, released to the public on 7 Sep. for a one-month consultation period, includes guidelines . . . Read More

Report: Pakistan school textbooks riddled with religious ‘hate material’

August 25, 2016 Pakistan Balochistan, Education, Islamic extremism, Jamaat-e-Islami, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Taliban

A young girl does her school work in Karachi, Pakistan, in a 2011 photo.UN Photo / John Isaac / Flickr CC A report by Pakistan’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) says the government has failed to keep its promise to eradicate religious “hate material” from textbooks used . . . Read More

Rescued Chibok girl still missing

June 23, 2016 Nigeria Chibok girls, Children, Education, Kidnapping, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Women

“BringBackOurGirls”, an advocacy group which has been campaigning for the safe rescue of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, has expressed concerns over the whereabouts of Amina Ali, the first girl rescued a month ago. On 19 May, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari promised the government “will do everything possible” to ensure that . . . Read More

How to rebuild Nigeria after Boko Haram?

May 17, 2016 Nigeria Abuja, Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Education, Kidnapping, Nigeria

A security summit of regional and Western powers in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, has pledged a “global approach” comprising military and developmental efforts to end the threat posed by Boko Haram. Recent military operations by Nigeria and regional forces have led to territorial gains and revealed the scale of devastation. They . . . Read More

‘Losing my religion’ – why it’s so hard in the Middle East

April 26, 2016 Burial, Children, Education, Marriage, Middle East, Mohammed Hegazy

Why is the Middle East the way it is? There are many ways to approach answering this question. The book ‘Identity Crisis’ by Jonathan Andrews, a former researcher for Middle East Concern, a group of Christian charities which all work across the region, provides “a unique and timely perspective on . . . Read More

UPDATE: A ‘shaming’ of Christians in Pakistan schoolbooks

April 12, 2016 Pakistan Balochistan, Education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Madrassas, Punjab, Sindh, USA

Note: This report has been updated to include remarks made at the USCIRF announcement 12 April in Washington, D.C. The news Textbooks in Pakistan’s public schools have become more antagonistic toward Christians and other religious minorities in the past five years, a new report says. “The trend toward a more biased . . . Read More

ISIS burns Christian books

March 14, 2016 Iraq Education, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Sharia

ISIS has released a video purporting to show its religious police burning hundreds of Christian books, according to . The video footage shows a militant throwing pamphlets, bearing a cross on the front cover, onto a bonfire. It was posted on 13 March by its news agency, Amaq, with the . . . Read More

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