The Ministry of Education yesterday said that a prayer delivered by a student at last Thursday’s announcement of CXC exams results was a universal one and not Christian.
In a release yesterday, the ministry was responding to a letter in Tuesday’s edition of Stabroek News where Swami Aksharananda had stated that the prayer recited by the 2020 Most Outstanding Student for CSEC Bhedesh Persaud was Christian and that this practice was discriminatory considering the other faiths in the country.
In its release, the ministry said that the prayer delivered by Persaud is the same one that is recited at the sittings of the National Assembly.
“The Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand during her previous stint as Education Minister had insisted that wherever a prayer is done at any function hosted by the Ministry or any of its departments, the universal prayer or a silent prayer is done with the only exception being those events held in Amerindian communities.
“The Ministry agrees that no one religion, ethnicity, gender etc. is or should be made to be seen as dominant over the other and has noted that there have been some events where the intention of the Ministry and its policy was not followed and had re-issued a memo, with the universal prayer attached, reminding of said policy”, the release said.
