Vic: Discussion of war in schools should be unbiased, Bracks

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Vic: Discussion of war in schools should be unbiased, Bracks

MELBOURNE, April 2 AAP - Victorian schools could decide for themselves how to tacklethe issue of war in Iraq as long as discussion was unbiased, Premier Steve Bracks saidtoday.

Mr Bracks' comments followed a decision by Melbourne High School to ban discussionof the war in classes except when it came up as part of the curriculum.

He said he did not have a problem with this approach.

"It's up to each school to decide how they treat the war as part of their curriculum,"

he told reporters.

Mr Bracks said the government had issued guidelines to all government schools on howto address the war.

"Those guidelines are really to say that obviously the war is a current topic whichcan be discussed, but personal political opinions should not come into the school room,"

he said.

AAP bp/ce/ph/bwl

KEYWORD: IRAQ AUST SCHOOL