Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove has responded this week to a series of letters reacting to plans to remove reference of the UN from citizenship teaching as part of a reform of the National Curriculum.
On behalf of the UN APPG, three Officers of the Group: Lord Hannay (Chair), Baroness Coussins (Vice Chair) and Baroness Kinnock (Vice Chair), wrote to the Secretary of State to stress the importance of the younger generation gaining an understanding of the UN in the context of the major challenges their generation will face.
Click here to read the letter from Lord Hannay
In his response, the Secretary of State recognised the need for pupils to gain a well-rounded knowledge of the UK’s governance, as well as other systems of government, and assured the UN APPG that its concerns would be passed on for further consideration.
Click here to read the response from the Secretary of State
This initiative builds on recent letters on this matter from UNA-UK Chairman Sir Jeremy Greenstock and Apurv Gupta, President of the UNA Youth Council, calling for explicit mentions of the UN to be retained in the curriculum. Mr Gupta, on behalf of UNA Youth, used the opportunity to highlight the importance of educating young people about the UN if they are to become politically active, empowered and engaged global citizens.
Click here to read UNA Youth President Apurv Gupta's letter
With citizenship lessons presenting the only opportunity for students to learn about the UK’s rights and responsibilities and its relationship with the wider world, UNA-UK sincerely hopes the Secretary of State will take the decision to retain reference to the United Nations in the National Curriculum.
