[LINK] Law changes to encourage male teachers

[Howard Lowndes]

<hfl>
It rather looks as if the chooks of political correctness are starting
to come home to roost.
</hfl>

The Federal Government has announced plans to change Australia's sex
discrimination laws to allow schools to recruit more male teachers. 

The Government is concerned about a lack of role models for boys.

Under the changes, Catholic, Government and independent schools will be
able to offer scholarships to men to encourage them into the profession.

Education Minister Brendan Nelson has told parliament that only 21 per
cent of primary school teachers are men.

He says men make up only 18 per cent of those training to enter the
profession. 

"In 250 public state schools in the state of New South Wales the only
man on campus, if there is one, is the gardener," he said.

The Catholic Church is currently fighting in the courts for an exemption
from sex discrimination laws. 

But Dr Nelson is not waiting for the outcome. 

Dr Nelson says Australia will produce a generation of disengaged and
disillusioned young men if nothing is done.

"It will do this country no good if we spend the next decade
hand-wringing and clinging to misplaced and well-guided ideological
purity if we produce a generation of young men who are disengaged, who
are disillusioned [and] who feel ill-prepared for the future," he said.

"This country will pay an enormous price."

Dr Nelson says he is also concerned about falling performance rates of
boys at school. 

-- 
Howard.
LANNet Computing Associates - Your Linux people <http://www.lannetlinux.com>
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