Nigel Farage Accuses Teachers of ‘Indoctrinating Children’ on Race Issues
Nigel Farage has asserted that teachers would go on strike within weeks a Reform UK election victory, accusing them of “harming young minds” by telling students that black pupils are victims and white children oppressors.
At a gathering for a private US Christian college, the politician expressed his viewpoint on British schools, stating that the “Marxist left” had “now in control of our education system”.
“I expect a teachers’ strike very quickly after winning the next general election,” Farage commented in response to questions.
“They are corrupting young minds. They instruct children to feel guilt about their nation. They inform an eight-year-old black child that he is oppressed and little Oliver, who is white, who is eight that he is a perpetrator. They create division, not uniting us. They promote this harmful mindset.”
Reacting to these assertions, the head of a major education union dismissed the idea that the schools were under Marxist influence as “absurd”. He pointed out that industrial action must relate to educators’ working conditions, and questioned whether the party would target these immediately upon entering government.
“Farage has built his political career on dog-whistle politics and now, similar to other figures, he is lining up teachers and their unions for a conflict,” the union leader said.
“This is highly reckless. I don’t – and nor does my union – push critical race theory as he’s suggesting … Should he become prime minister he would sell out our public services, particularly schooling … and the outcome would be catastrophic for students and learning.”
Reform, which is leading the polls by about 10 points, has not set out much detail on a proposed education policy and does not appear to have appointed an education spokesperson.
However, his comments suggested the party would overhaul the educational framework. Farage declared: “We have got a massive job with schooling – truly monumental. And, we can’t do it in six months or a year; it requires years, a long-term effort to reform.”
He stated that younger generations are receptive to critical thinking, but older youth were “completely lost”.
Honoring Charlie Kirk, he commented: “All I want education to do to teach critical thinking – to instruct people that multiple perspectives exist and they should decide for themselves rather than what’s happening now where views are labeled good or bad. It’s a massive job in both Britain and America.”
Reform has previously clashed with the UK’s largest teaching union, after the union leader labeled them “extremist and prejudiced” and described the leader as “a poundshop Donald Trump”.
Farage has accused the union head with being “an avowed radical” … an individual intent that our children should be poisoned through education, their minds should be poisoned regarding national issues” and maintained that the union is trying to indoctrinate teenagers against Reform.
Roughly a million individuals work in schools in the UK, about half of whom are teachers and the others teaching assistants and support staff. The major education union has about 450,000 members.
National strikes over teacher pay and conditions in 2023 caused widespread disruption in educational institutions and extensive missed instruction for students.
At the US event, Farage also vowed to promote the digital courses of the Christian college in the UK. He stated such groups were “part of the fightback”, noting: “I am serious. I’ll assist attract vast numbers of young people to your online courses. I make that commitment now and I will follow through.”
The institution, a small private Christian college, offers free courses. Its website states: “Comprehensive learning is necessary for personal happiness and to maintain the benefits of freedom. The college furnishes these excellent programs for free to all who wish to learn.”
