Catholic bishops have proposed a series of changes in a draft education policy prepared by the Indian government, criticizing its silence on the rights and contributions of Christians.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), drafted the National Education Policy (NEP 2019) in its attempt to revise and modernize the country’s education system and invited public responses to it.

The Indian bishops’ Office for Education submitted a 28-page proposal on July 25, when a six-member delegation met with Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at his office in New Delhi. Education comes under Nishank’s portfolio.

Father Joseph Manipadam, secretary of the bishops’ education office, told ucanews.com the draft policy failed to address basic issues of education such as lack of teachers and lack of basic facilities such as drinking water, basic hygiene and clean toilets.