LEAGUE: ARMY GETS ITS MARCHING ORDERS FROM SCHOOLS - AGAIN

Members at the National Union of Teachers at their annual conference have voted to oppose military recruitment activities in schools if they employ "misleading propaganda".

The conference was told that young children must be given a true picture of Army life, not a "marketised version".

This new criticism is the latest in a series that has questioned the appropriateness of recruitment in schools and follows strong opposition voiced by politicians in Wales. Also, a decision (more forceful than the NUT one) by Scotland's largest teaching Union (the EIS) to oppose recruitment in schools. In Scotland young people themselves challenged the policy of the military to focus on school age children (See Cetic News No 2334 below).

The Celtic League has long opposed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) policy of 'targeting the classroom".

In January 2007, following an outcry in Wales over the targeting by the MoD of children in schools in South Wales, we said:

"It is not simply in Wales that questions should be asked about recruitment policy. The Army in particular targets Scotland, Mann and N. Ireland in its drive attract impressionable young people. The tragedy of the four (still not properly explained) deaths at Deepcut training centre also shows the Army pays scant regard to its 'duty of care' to these young people"

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

25/03/08