Christian missionary schools are on a collision course with the state government.

The founder bodies of the schools have decided to launch a movement against a recent government order making it mandatory for the institutions to get their minority status certificates renewed after every three years.

The order is applicable to all schools run by minority communities that have obtained the certificate from the state minority affairs department. The Christian schools that have been awarded the certificate by the Delhi-based National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) do not come under the order’s purview.

The missionaries feel that the certificate, once issued, should remain valid forever, as is the case with the NCMEI document.

“The government order is an insult to the Christian missionary schools. There are 700-odd missionary schools in the state. Around 250 are more than a century old and of the rest, many were set up over 50 years ago. There is no reason to ask these schools to renew their minority status after every three years,” said Father Faustine Brank, the president of the education cell of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba.

Priests, nuns and representatives of the 95 church bodies that run the schools will meet at Calcutta Girls School on Saturday to discuss their course of action. “We will first approach the state government. If it turns its back on us, we will knock on the Centre’s door. There will also be demonstrations and token protests,” said a senior official of a Christian school.

Calcutta Girls is among the schools that got the certificate from the state government.

State minority affairs minister Abdus Sattar defended the order, saying: “The minority schools are expected to serve their communities. During renewal of the certificate, we will ensure that the schools fulfil the objective.”

He, however, added that “proper relaxation” will be offered to the Christian missionary schools if they abide by the rules.