Teachers attack army over 'school recruitment'

Teachers accused the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday of "exploiting" schools to find new recruits after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made it harder to sign up volunteers.

Members of the National Union of Teachers said military visitors to schools pushed a partisan view of becoming a soldier which promotes the career prospects, training and travel, while downplaying the "fatal realities".

In a motion put forward at the union's annual conference in Manchester, they said: "Schools should not be conduits for either the dissemination of MoD propaganda or the recruitment of military personnel."

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South London teacher Catherine Brennan said information about the military given to pupils was one-sided.

"They shouldn't come into schools and present a glamorised, untruthful account of what's it's like in the military," she told BBC radio.

"There's a clear intention to get more people joining the army at a time when it has got trouble with its recruitment because they're fighting a deeply unpopular war in Iraq.

"At 16, people are too young to drink, they're too young to drive, they're too young to vote and we think they are also too young to be joining the armed forces."

The Ministry of Defence said it is invited into around 1,000 schools a year and goes to inform rather than recruit.

Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Commander Recruiting Group said: "Their aim is to raise the general awareness of the Armed Forces in society, not to recruit.

"We are proud of the work we do with schools and colleges to inform young people about the tremendous work and careers on offer, which can provide fantastic and unique opportunities to a wide range of people from all sectors of society."

An MoD spokesman said it presents clear information about all aspects of military life.

"A career in the armed forces is not something to be ashamed of and we are proud to raise awareness of the tremendous work that our service personnel do." he said.

Earlier this month, NUT General Secretary Steve Sinnott said lesson plans drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war amounted to propaganda.

A leaked report published in the Sunday Telegraph last November said the MoD faced a "continuing difficult environment" for recruitment.

It highlighted concerns over poor housing, bad food and cancelled leave.