State MP calls on Minister for Education to condemn politically biased material
The Victorian State Member of Caulfield David Southwick has called on the Minister for Education James Merlino to condemn the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation for permitting content in an exam paper stating that Arabs are persecuted in Israel.
David Southwick
In a statement today David Southwick said: “Today I have written to the calling on him to condemn the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), and ensure that politically biased materials are not distributed as part of the Victorian education curriculum.
The ACHPER recently disseminated a package of school-assessed coursework tasks includinga questions and answers set, with one sample exam claiming “An example of an individual being persecuted for their religion could be the Arab families living in Israel who practise theIslam religion rather than the Jewish religion”.
The contents of this paper are libellous, offensive and ultimately false.
With a 59% increase in total Anti-semitic incidents in Australia in 2017-18, as compared to the previous year, such biased materials merely act to heighten hostility towards the Jewish community, particularly when directed to the broader student body, who may not be informed as to the many complexities of Middle Eastern politics.
Politically biased and inaccurate materials have no place in the Victorian education system.”
Agreed; much about this is in the Australian Newspaper but I have seen nothing in the Age!