Thursday, October 16, 2008

Creationism in Australian Schools: Under the Radar?

The Fairfax Regional Network is reporting that there is little monitoring of Christian schools as to whether or not they are teaching creationism, which is not part of the Australian school curriculum and not evolution, which is. They write:

The head of the NSW Board of Studies, John Bennett, told a NSW parliamentary committee yesterday that the education watchdog relied on the Christian schools network to assess whether schools kept to the NSW curriculum, which forbids the teaching of creationism in science classes.

Dr Bennett said teaching creationism was not outlawed in schools, but those that taught creationism were obliged to make clear to students that it was not part of the curriculum and could not be part of an examination assessment.

Responding to questions from a NSW Greens MP, John Kaye, he said that apart from an inspection once every five years and spot checks, the board also relied on individual complaints.

This is likely what will happen in the US in states that pass "academic freedom bills."

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