Fri, May 29, 2009
The New Paper
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By Veena Bharwani
THEY hang around outside secondary schools and approach
students.
These men then give Bibles to the students and talk to them
about God.
The men, usually in their 30s, then ask the students for their
handphone numbers and urge them to attend cell group meetings in
their church.
This is what some students from Greenview Secondary in Pasir Ris
have encountered over the past few years. This is not the only
school that has seen religious groups right outside their school
gates.
Last month, The New Paper reported that two men were
distributing religious materials to students from Shuqun Secondary
just outside the school in Jurong.
Related link:
» 'Not outside my school'
The principal of Shuqun Secondary, Mr Adolphus Tan, put a stop
to it immediately and asked the men to go away.
But in this recent case concerning Greenview Secondary, it was a
parent who decided to act.
Mr Patrick Tay, 58, stepped in to protect his son, 13, who was
approached by two men from a church outside Greenview Secondary in
January.
Mr Tay, who runs a trading company, added: 'My son had just
started secondary school this year so he is a bit 'blur'. They then
asked for his handphone number and my unsuspecting son gave it to
them not knowing what to do.'
Shortly after that, he claimed his son kept getting repeated
SMSes and calls from these people asking him to attend their cell
group meetings at Cornerstone Community Church in Katong.
Said Mr Tay: ' I felt they are targeting younger kids like my
son who are timid and don't know much.
'I am a Roman Catholic myself and I still am offended as they
are not respecting our different religious beliefs.'
Mr Tay said he went to the church shortly after the incident to
tell the members who had sent SMSes to his son not to bother him
anymore.
Principal alerted
He also alerted the principal of Greenview Secondary about the
matter.
Mr Tay didn't allow us to talk to his son.
The New Paper called the Cornerstone Community Church and
e-mailed our questions about a month ago. But the youth leader did
not get back to us.
We called the church again a week later, but still couldn't get
a comment from them.
The New Paper spoke to five other Greenview Secondary school
students who said that they, too, have been harassed on different
occasions by men from various churches who were either distributing
Bibles or asking for their handphone numbers.
Said a female student, 15: 'They have approached me twice in the
past two years. The first time was two years ago. They asked for my
handphone number but I declined to give it to them as they are
strangers.'
She was approached again in March, this time by two men who were
distributing Bibles.
'They would not let me pass them so I just took the Bible and
quickly walked away so they would leave me alone. I informed my
parents who got very angry and reminded me to be more careful next
time.'
The principal of Greenview Secondary, Mr Koh Kok Khai, said he
is aware of the situation.
He said: 'We have reminded our students to be mindful when
approached by strangers outside of school. They have also been
advised not to share personal information with these
strangers.'
A vice-principal from a secondary school in the West said his
students have also told him of similar incidents.
Sensitive issue
Another teacher said there is little schools that can say or do
as it is a matter of personal religious beliefs - a sensitive issue
for all.
Said the 29-year-old English teacher: 'We try not to tell kids
what is right or wrong when it comes to religion as schools are a
secular space. We would advise them immediately to tell their
parents about the matter and let them handle it.'
Parent Pushpa Dhinakaran, 45, said that while such a trend is
worrying, she understands that there is little schools that can do
to prevent such things from happening.
'If it is happening inside the school premises, then it can be
stopped, but this happened outside school.
'The best we parents can do is warn our kids to be careful when
talking to strangers,' she added.
