Raj: Archbishop’s request contrary to equality, non discrimination
The right to religious orientation is not under threat because this is protected by the Constitution.
This is not only problematic because “faith” is arbitrary and subjective in nature, but its inclusion will only give credence to discrimination. Ashwin Raj Director, Human Rights and AntiDiscrimination Commission
The call for faith-based schools to be led by principals of that particular faith will encourage racial profiling based not only on faith but other prohibited grounds of discrimination. This was the summation by Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (HRADC) director Ashwin Raj.
This comes after the head of Roman Catholic Church in Fiji Archbishop Peter Loy Chong had asked the Ministry of Education to reconsider having members of the faith to head its schools.
In a letter written to the Minister of Education Rosy Akbar dated January 11th, he also requested that faith be an element of the Open Merit Recruitment Selection System (OMRSS). In response to the request made by the Archbishop, Mr Raj said this was contrary to the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
“Soon there will be calls to have schools to be led by individuals from a particular ethnic community or indeed teachers of a preferred race or religion,” he said.
“The right to religious orientation is not under threat because this is protected by the Constitution.” He added it would oppress multiculturalism, tolerance and diversity that children should be encouraged to practice.
“Last year the commission investigated a complaint by a high school student who was told by the principal and management of the school she was attending to look for a school that “accommodated students of her kind” because she was wearing a headscarf,” Mr Raj said. “This was consistent with her faith but deemed contrary to the dress code of the school.”
Mr Raj also opposed the Archbishop’s request on the inclusion of faith into the
OMRS policy.
“This is not only problematic because
“faith” is arbitrary and subjective in nature, but its inclusion will only give credence to discrimination,” he said.
“The OMRS was introduced precisely to ensure that the most meritorious person was selected for the job and not because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender or other prohibited grounds of discrimination.”
Mr Raj questioned whether Fiji was reverting to the old policy of affirmative action by giving into the call to include faith into the Open Merit Recruitment System.