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Aussie state moves to scrap religious teaching from public schools

Xinhua, August 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian state of Victoria's Labor government has moved to fully secularise government schools, removing the final traces of religious education from the curriculum.

Although Victoria's public, government-funded schools operate under a secular model, some offer children Special Religious Instruction (SRI) on a once-a-week basis during class time.

However, the government has ordered that the 30-minute weekly program be moved to lunchtime - or before or after school - as of 2016. The SRI time-slots will be filled by a new world history, cultures, faith and ethics educational content.

The government's state school curriculum states: "Education in government schools must be secular" and cannot "promote any particular religious practice, denomination or sect."

However, under another clause, SRI education could be offered by churches and other religious groups and based on distinctive religious tenets and beliefs.

"Extra-curricular programs should not interfere with class time when teachers and students should be focused on the core curriculum," the government said in a statement on Friday.

Dawn Penny, chief executive of Access Ministers, the main chaplaincy organisation responsible for administering SRI, told Fairfax media on Friday that the group would seek "urgent discussions" with the government.

"The decision contradicts a clear statement made prior to the last state election that the government would support SRI," Penny said.

The program attendance rate has dropped off in recent years, falling from 92,808 to 53,391 students from 2012 to 2013.

Education minister James Merlino said ethics and faith content would still be delivered in the curriculum shake-up.

"This new content helps all school students, regardless of their background or faith, to understand the world around them and the ideas and values that shape that world," Merlino said.

Opponent of the SRI program, Australian Education Union Victorian president Meredith Peace, applauded the announcement, saying religion had no place in public schools. "We didn't believe SRI was consistent with that," Peace said. Endi