Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 8 May 2018.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 1:45, 8 May 2018

Well, that is a debatable point in itself, I believe—it's not one I'm going to pursue at this minute, but, to take the wider point that the First Minister has raised, yes, I do agree that the Welsh baccalaureate course might have some use beyond formal learning in classrooms, making students think about wider issues in the world. That, in itself, could be a good thing. It depends on how the course is structured and how it is taught. One of the things that the Welsh bac contains is a global citizen challenge, which deals with issues such as cultural diversity, fair trade, future energy, inequality and poverty. These are all highly political topics, which need to be taught in a balanced way if education is not to degrade itself into mere propaganda. There are serious debates, for example, about the causes of poverty in other parts of the world: why is a potentially rich country like Venezuela reduced to destitution? We know that's because it has a Corbynite Government. Why is a country like Singapore, which has virtually no natural resources, now the country in the world that has the highest per capita income? None of this features in the Welsh baccalaureate course on poverty. So, does the First Minister not agree with me that we need to be very careful about the way these political subjects are taught in schools to make sure that the course is balanced and it teaches students how to think critically about issues, rather than just to swallow what they're told?