PET(4) SAR 10
Petitions Committee
Consultation on petition P-04-432 Stop the Army Recruiting in Schools
Response from Tim Hart
Dear
Sir/Madam,
Unfortunately I was not aware of this petition until after the
closing date but in any event I support the proposal for a ban on a
military presence in schools and therefore submit this email as
part of the consultation. I have two daughters that went through
the state education system in England and would have been dismayed
had they been subject to such targeted recruitment, although I
understand that England does permit such presence in its state
schools at the discretion of the head teacher.
I was interested in the wording of the petition which states that:
'no other country in the European Union permits such a military
presence in schools.' Before the Welsh Assembly makes up its
mind on this issue I feel that it would be helpful for it to have
the facts on this particular aspect. I suspect the statistics
and reasons for the ban on the military in schools by Member
Countries could be obtained relatively easily from the European
Commission and would prove valuable in enabling Assembly Members to
make an informed decision.
The petition also states that the Military target deprived areas in
its recruitment drives. I wonder whether the department of
education has statistics concerning which schools have been visited
by the Military in Wales- say over the past five years - and
what is the socio-demographic profile of these schools. This
would help to prove or disprove this particular claim.
Personally I have no particular knowledge or expertise in this
subject and therefore cannot assist with the answers to these
questions. From a broad legal and moral standpoint I believe
it is questionable whether a school has the right to impose upon
the children in its care such a military presence, which I believe
would by more suitably deferred to adulthood - perhaps at college
or university for instance – by which time the young people
would be better placed to make an informed choice.
Thank you for taking the trouble to consider my views.
Tim Hart