Croatia: bishops against yoga at school” “

An appeal against the introduction of yoga in schools next school year has been made by Croatian bishops during the last session of the permanent Council held in Zagreb on 12 July. The Minister of Education and Sport of the Republic of Croatia, in fulfilment of a decision taken by the government in February, has signed an agreement with the association “Yoga in daily life” for the implementation of a programme of ‘training of educators in applied exercises’ furnished by the association itself. Participation is voluntary and entails attending weekend seminars. The minister also ordered that each school be informed about this programme and help to disseminate it. According to the bishops, “it seems clear that the educators who join the programme will later be called to teach yoga in their work with pupils and students” and that it is “an attempt to introduce this discipline without any permission by parents and without the knowledge of public opinion”. “Attempts of this kind – they recall – have already been made in the past in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Austria but without any result due to the opposition of the Churches and public opinion. It is unacceptable to introduce subjects into the school curriculum in this way. Those interested can follow such courses outside school hours. It is essential that families too make their voice heard on the matter”.