The group Citizens for a Better T&T (CBTT) yesterday said the opening of a Shouter Baptist Primary School affords the church a vital vehicle to further raise the self-esteem of young Baptists.
In a release, the group's spokesman Harrack Balramsingh said: "While the school will not be able to cater to the educational needs of all the country's Spiritual Baptist children of primary-school age, it will represent a significant leap for their faith. Many Shouter Baptists are today being trained to take on leadership roles, which are in sharp contrast to the position decades ago, when the then colonial society consciously sought to demotivate Shouter Baptists."
He said it was only fair that if other religious groups were allowed to have government-assisted schools that Shouter Baptists and other groups should be allowed to do the same. "Peace in any country can only be achieved if we learn to respect and tolerate other people's faith," Balramsingh said.
