Catholic schools called to form, not just educate, says Vicar for Education

Education in Catholic schools must not be reduced to examination results, institutional reputation, technological advancement, or measurable achievement, said Fr David Khan, Vicar for Education in the Archdiocese and Chief Executive Officer of the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM).

In A letter on Faithful Stewardship in Catholic Education for the opening of the academic year 2026–2027, addressed to principals, vice principals, teachers, chaplains, administrative and support staff, students and parents, Fr Khan said these achievements have their place but are not the ultimate purpose of Catholic education. Catholic education, he said, transcends the transmission of academic knowledge and seeks to educate the whole person.

Academic excellence and Christian formation must never be separated, he said, because the pursuit of knowledge cannot be divorced from the pursuit of truth, which finds its fullness in Jesus Christ. The deeper question, he noted, is whether students have encountered truth, discovered their dignity, grown in wisdom, encountered Christ, and been prepared for lives of holiness and service.

“In our schools, we are called to form the whole person intellectually, morally, spiritually, socially, and culturally, so that young people may discover the truth of their dignity, the meaning of their lives, and their vocation to love God and serve others,” he stated.

Fr Khan described educators as Christian stewards entrusted with gifts to be exercised before God and for others. The faithful steward, he said, asks not only, “What can I achieve?” but “How faithfully have I used what God has entrusted to me?”

Such an understanding transforms leadership and service: authority becomes service, administration becomes stewardship, teaching becomes vocation, professional excellence becomes an offering, and resources become instruments for mission.

He stressed that the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, must remain central. Of policy, programme, structure, system, or technological development, “none of these may become more important than the persons they are intended to serve,” he said.

Fr Khan warned that any educational culture reducing the child to grades, performance, behaviour, economic usefulness, or a technological profile must be rejected. This is especially important, he said, in light of artificial intelligence and rapidly developing digital technologies.

“Decisions concerning data, algorithms, platforms, and artificial intelligence must be guided by human dignity, solidarity, justice, responsibility, and concern for future generations.”

The letter also highlights the role of Catholic educators in transmitting the apostolic faith. Fr Khan said what has been received “must be proclaimed, embodied, taught, celebrated, and handed on to the young people entrusted to our care”.

His message also included a pastoral exhortation to the Catholic education community. Addressing students, Fr Khan said they are not merely recipients of education, but persons called, loved, and gifted by God, invited to discover the vocation He has prepared for them.