An announcement by the UK Secretary of Education has prompted mixed reactions online as it banned schools across the country from "promoting contested theories as facts" or "giving one-sided accounts of historic national figures."
According to the Department of Education, the new rules are aimed at ending the "indoctrination" of UK students and curbing discussions of politically-charged topics, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the history of the British Empire, in addition to Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
No view is "unbiased".
— ?? Vicki ?️??? #PeaceAndJustice ⚧️ (@FluffySocialist) February 17, 2022
Cutting out BLM and Stonewall is not going to remove bias.
If a school aims to teach an unbiased curriculum, in reality it's teaching bias as if it's fact and without acknowledging it. https://t.co/LxDRdAsn8t
Addressing this policy change, the UK Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi also called on an end to one-sided historical narratives, citing records on Winston Churchill's role throughout the UK's modern history, especially after recent conversations have doubted his status as a "national hero" to "a racist."
Sec. Zahawi, who hails from Iraqi origins, also advised that "ongoing and controversial issues regarding the British Empire be handled in a balanced manner."
What absolute nonsense. All because the government’s scared of kids recognising them for the charlatans they are.
— GirlFromFurness (@GFFurness) February 17, 2022
Schools in England given guidance to avoid biased teaching https://t.co/12nEry8oRb
Finally, the rules issued lately have encouraged avoiding endorsing political parties or movements, including Black Lives Matter.
The Daily Mail has described this move as an attempt "to tackle woke activist teachers who have been accused of pushing Left-wing dogma on to children."
