Principal and teacher groups are pushing for mandatory Special Religious Education (SRE) to be scrapped from high school after 43 per cent of students did not nominate a religion last year.
The number of New South Wales Public school students who do not identify with a religion has surged by 13 per cent in the three years to 2018, making non-believer the fastest-growing group, ahead of Islam and Hinduism.
Chris Presland, from the NSW Teachers Federation and the Secondary Principals Council, called for an end to mandatory SRE, saying “if parents want their kids to engage in religious education that’s fine, but it’s a bit like swimming school. It’s a parenting responsibility, not an educational responsibility”.