Brainwashing Kids OK in New Zealand Schools

The decision of the Education and Science Select Committee to ignore the call for the teaching of political propaganda in New Zealand schools to be against the law, is a huge blow to children and parents, the New Zealand Centre for Political Research's Dr Muriel Newman said today.

"Our petition to Parliament called for safeguards similar to those in the British Education Act that make it against the law to advance political propaganda in schools. Clause 406 of the British Education Act forbids 'the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in the school' and Clause 407 requires that if political matters are raised 'children are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views'. These laws meant that Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth', which was found to contain serious errors by a High Court Judge, was banned from being shown in UK schools unless the errors were pointed out to children and the alternative view that climate change is natural not man-made was presented.

"No such provisions exist in New Zealand so when Al Gore's film was shown in schools, children were exposed to the full force of the false propaganda. Surely New Zealand children deserve better than to be brainwashed by their school?

"An examination of our education curriculum reveals many cases of political influence including an excessive bias towards environmentalism and the Maori world view, and against business. Our kids deserve better than to be subjected to this sort of blatant political indoctrination.

"The Ministry of Education told the Select Committee that sufficient safeguards for New Zealand children already exist, but that is not credible. Their so-called 'solutions' rely on parents being able to choose the school they send their children to (which presupposes that zoning laws don't apply and that parents know in advance what their children are going to be taught - which of course they don't) or laying a complaint against a teacher (which most parents would be loathe to do for fear of repercussions against their children).

"The Ministry also made a big play on the fact that they haven't received letters of complaint about the curriculum from parents - but who can blame parents for 'suffering in silence' when most parents would assume that writing to the Ministry would be a waste of time, as the Ministry's response to this petition shows only too clearly.

"The Select Committee's reaction to our petition is very disappointing. The fact the New Zealand children are being brainwashed in schools to suit political agendas is clearly not a priority issue for them. Yet the curriculum desperately needs proper scrutiny. I had hoped the Select Committee would undertake an inquiry and it is a blow to children and parents that they have relied on the advice of the Ministry rather than investigating for themselves", Dr Newman said.

ENDS

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