Primary school principals shut down religious education classes

[SecularMotion]

Hundreds of primary school principals have stopped offering weekly religious education in schools, despite a department requirement to offer the classes.

Current Education Department guidelines state that principals "must" schedule the contentious ''special religious instruction'' (SRI) classes in the school timetable when accredited and approved instructors are available, but Education Department figures suggest the number of Victorian state schools delivering SRI programs declined by almost a third in the past two years.

Joe Kelly has been principal of Cranbourne South Primary School for 15 years, and acknowledged that until two years ago he had been "blindly supporting" Access Ministries' presence. That was until he took a closer look at the actual classes and curriculum.

"It is not education," Mr Kelly said. "It has no value whatsoever. It is rubbish - hollow and empty rhetoric … My school teachers are committed to teaching children, not indoctrinating them."

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/primary-school-principals-shut-down-religious-education-classes-20140216-32ty8.html

[pinto]

1. I'm unfamiliar with any separation of church / state standards in Australia, but this is good to see

I fully support "comparative religion" studies in public schools - which would include all aspects of religions as well as agnosticism, atheism and none of the above.

This SRI surely sounds like indoctrination not instruction as Mr. Kelly states in his comments.

[Lordquinton]

2. I do agree that stufy of religion is important

It is an important part of history, but all too often they let the foxes teach the chickens, so to speak.

Also from Wikipedia:

A primary school, or elementary school, is a school in which children receive primary or elementary education between the ages of about five to about eleven

I think this age range isn't the best for religion studies.

[cbayer]

3. I am surprised they have this requirement in the first place and hope

they get rid of it.

Australia is a distinctly non-religious place.