The next new petitions for consideration are PE1813, on reforming the national curriculum to include all African Scottish history, lodged by Eunice Olumide, and PE1814, on compulsory education of black, Asian, and minority ethnic history in Scottish schools, lodged by Tobe Amamize. PE1813 calls on the Scottish Government to reform the national curriculum to include Afro-Scottish history, including artefacts of the African diaspora, cultural and economic contributions, the role of the British empire and the benefits to Scotland from colonies in the Caribbean and Africa. PE1814 calls on the Scottish Government to embed black, Asian, and minority ethnic history into the school curriculum.
A Scottish Parliament information centre briefing and a Scottish Government submission have been provided for the two petitions jointly, so I suggest that we consider them together. We have not received a submission from either of the petitioners, but we have received a submission from Andrew Strachan. On 14 July, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills issued a public statement setting out the Scottish Government’s position on the issues, and the Scottish Government submission expands on that.
The submission advises that the Government considers that the education framework already provides opportunities for young people, as part of the broad general education and as part of courses at national 5, higher and advanced higher level, to learn about all aspects of Scotland’s history, heritage and culture, including the role that Scotland played in the slave trade.
The submission states:
“To support schools to make diverse choices about how they approach the curriculum, Education Scotland officials are in the process of working to exemplify how race equality can be addressed through whole school approaches”.
The Government also advises that an external reference group that includes BEMIS and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights is informing the work, and that a race equality in education resource for practitioners is nearly complete and is due for launch in September.
Obviously, there are important issues here, and we will want to get an update on progress, given what has been happening in the last wee while.
