PACIFIST group the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) today of promoting politically biased schooling over its new plans to encourage a “military ethos” in British schools.

Tory MP Robert Goodwill, who has been commissioned to write a report on the plans announced by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, has suggested that some schools, mainly in “disadvantaged” areas, could become “military academies.”

But the PPU said that schools would violate their legal duty to be politically balanced if they promoted pro-military attitudes. 

It is as “wrong for schools to promote a particular position on armed force” as it would be to advocate a particular view on party politics, abortion or Brexit, the PPU argued.

An MoD spokesman told the Morning Star: “Robert Goodwill will soon be undertaking a study that will look into the benefits of military ethos in schools.

“The government’s Cadet Expansion Programme has already proven that it can increase social mobility and help disadvantaged children reach their potential.

“Our Armed Forces are world leaders in pioneering fields such engineering, science and technology, and it is right for Robert to assess how the military can help promote this career path to our young people.”

The government has already spent over £45 million on schemes based on a “military ethos” in schools, such as armed forces cadet units.

Teachers, students and parents are concerned about their growth, the PPU said, adding that dozens of teachers shared their worries when the group’s members attended the National Education Union conference last weekend.

PPU co-ordinator Symon Hill said: “Rather than tackling poverty and deprivation, the government is patronising working-class young people by suggesting that only military discipline can help them.

“The last thing we should be teaching young people is the idea that violence is the solution to conflict and that people should do what they’re told without reference to their own conscience.

“Schools don’t need a military ethos. They need a balanced ethos so that young people hear a range of perspectives and are able to form their own views as they grow up.”