The education forum meeting of the Nagpur province was held on the 4th and 5th of March 2024. The meeting began behind schedule due to late arrival of the resource persons. Fr. Allan Gonsalves the councillor in charge of education welcomed the dignitaries, and the members of the forum. We began with the prayer service conducted by Fr. Albin. He began the prayer service by stating that the lighting of the lamp signifies the beginning of a journey towards enlightenment and the pursuit of knowledge. The dignitaries were called to light the ceremonial lamp. A formal welcome was accorded to the dignitaries: Fr. Jacob Karamakuzhiyil, the General Councillor in charge of Education; Fr. Manoj Tirkey, the provincial superior of the Nagpur province; Fr. Allan Gonsalves, the Councillor in charge of the Education of the Nagpur province. The dignitaries were greeted with the shawl and a sapling. The members of the forum present for the occasion were also welcomed. After the welcome ceremony, began the first session. The resource person for the first session was Mr. Vikas Dodrajka from Chaibasa, Jharkhand. He is the Member of the Jharkhand state commission for protection of child rights. He spoke mainly on the rights of children and their welfare. He stated that the main purpose of laws for children is to protect and help children. He began the session by explaining the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children. 1989); which is an international agreement on children. He dealt on various topics and explained the role of the various laws in the country for the protection of the children. The JCWL deals with the Juvenile Conflict with the Law. Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) decides the punishment for the offences committed by children. He also enlightened the Forum member on SJPC, CARA Child abuse, CWC, POCSO Act of 2012, RTE and Corporal punishment Act of 2009 and 2013. He also gave many examples and insisted that the heads of the institution must become familiar with various Acts and Laws that govern the rights of children. The General Councillor for Education, Fr. Jacob Karamakuzhiyil, addressed the forum. He stressed on the point that the role of the principal was very important in the functioning of the school. He went on further to say that the leadership qualities and the character attitudes play an important role in the upbringing of the school. He also emphasised on the need for the periodic evaluation of the teachers. He also highlighted the fact, that the primary duty of the head of the institution is to animate the teachers. During the evening session various schools presented their reports. Most of the schools presented their achievements and various curricular and extracurricular activities conducted during the academic year. The second day began with the Morning Prayer. The Eucharist was celebrated by the resource person of the day, Fr. Suresh, former editor of the Indian Currents. The day two sessions, were conducted by Fr. Suresh. He began the session by explaining to the gathering “the Bolling Frog Syndrome”. He was outright in stating that the constitution of the country gives us the right to run the institutions and head them. He emphasises that as we occupy the chair, we need to use pastoral prudence and be humane and holy, while administering the duty.

The final session was animated by Fr. Provincial. He stressed on the implementation of the “Call of the General Chapter” and the implementation of the Action Plan of the Provincial Chapter 2023 and spoke about the professional evaluation of the institutions. He brought to the notice of the forum members, about the appropriate behaviour required in the school. The Councillor in Charge proposed the vote of thanks.