‘Ideology has no place in school’, says Coalition’s Jonathon Duniam

Jonathon Duniam will push for a review of the national curriculum and the removal of ideology from the classroom.

Opposition education spokesman Jonathon Duniam in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

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The national curriculum should be reviewed and ideology ­removed from the classroom to focus on the fundamentals of learning, the opposition’s new education spokesman, Jonathon Duniam, says.

As he steps into the role after Sussan Ley revamped the ­Coalition frontbench, Senator Duniam has outlined his vision for the education portfolio, including a shift away from “political agendas”.

Revealing he was “surprised but delighted” to be handed the education portfolio, Senator ­Duniam said he supported reviewing rules that limit ministerial intervention in the allocation of Australian ­Research Council grants in cases that “take the mickey”.

He also told The Australian on Wednesday that he would adopt a “more sensitive ­approach” to international students and migration, signalling that the Coalition’s handline stance during the campaign had contributed to its May 3 election defeat.

Senator Duniam also raised concerns about the level of proficiency in subject matters that were required for teachers as part of their training, as well as the inclusion of material about “white privilege” in education degrees.

The Tasmanian senator, who is also opposition early education spokesman, said the ­national curriculum was “always in need of review”. “There has been a lot of debate around elements of the curriculum that are not central to the improvement of things like reading, literacy, numeracy, maths, scientific studies, that perhaps can find a different home,” he said.

“There are ways of structuring it that I’m sure means we could focus on those basic things.

“When you hear reports of things like in universities, for example, where you have political agendas that are part of what is being taught, or Welcomes to Country as part of an assessment on a subject that doesn’t in any way relate to Indigenous affairs, I do become concerned.

“There are elements of that which have crept into primary and secondary teaching.”

The father of three said the teaching of Australian history in schools tended to focus on its “darker chapters” concerning Indigenous people and colonisation. “It’s a great country,” he said. “Our forefathers made mistakes. Generations prior to ours have done the wrong thing, and many can attest to those things, and no one will dispute them. But we cannot allow that to dominate how we view our country in a historical context, and therefore teach about it as well.”

After Education Minister Jason Clare passed legislation preventing political interference in the allocation of ARC grants, Senator Duniam flagged his concern about some academic “flights of fancy” that had been awarded government funding.

“There are some, frankly, where I think people are taking the mickey,” he said.

“And if Minister Clare doesn’t see the need to at least engage with the people who are paying for this, the taxpayers, then that does concern me greatly.

“Whether it is an approach where you see a final say by the minister, or whether we’re building better guidelines and guardrails around how funding is dispersed, that’s something I’m happy to debate.”

On childcare, he said he remained “sceptical” about Labor’s decision to repeal the requirement for parents to work, study or volunteer to receive subsidies.