WHEN I was at school, which admittedly wasn’t recently, I received a pretty rounded education with all major historical topics covered along with the incomprehensible subjects such as maths.

All subjects that are now viewed as contentious were covered, such as British colonialism, slavery and the various wars and conflicts that have shaped history.

What was more important, all the topics were taught in a balanced manner and were not slanted towards one particular viewpoint and we were told it as it was, warts and all.

History is like most other subjects in that it is based on irrefutable facts.

But all major events are open to interpretation and these must also be covered whenever the subject is being taught otherwise there is no balance.

Any teaching of slavery, for example, has to be looked at from both sides otherwise there can be no hope of pupils gaining the context that is necessary. 

The wealth generated in the UK and the legacy it still leaves in our city centres must be balanced with the truth about the slave trade from the black community and what legacy it leaves them today.

Otherwise there is no point in teaching it as pupils receive a warped view of what it was all about.

However, there are moves afoot to ‘de-colonise’ Scotland’s curriculum which is something that should be cause for concern for everyone.

The major problem with this approach is that it could go too far the other way, which rather defeats the whole purpose.

Pupils could also get sanitised or highly politicised versions of events which does no good at all.

For example, Indian partition is one of the most contentious events of the 20th century and one that still reverberates across the sub-continent and beyond today.

The ensuing genocide saw millions of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus slaughtered as they tried to cross the border into either India or Pakistan.

Those facts are irrefutable but who was to blame remains contentious to say the least. Ask ordinary Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus who was to blame and they would probably all give different answers.

Teaching it should just involve the facts and let pupils, from all races, make their own minds up.

But if the curriculum is totally de-colonised then where would the facts fit in without it being open to abuse by someone with a narrow agenda.

Schools are places for learning and that means learning about every subject from all sides. Anything less isn’t a grounded and broad education.

Proponents of curriculum de-colonisation claim the Scottish education system is racist and must be changed to reflect the views of BAME pupils.

This is probably fair enough but education must be balanced and relevant to all pupils otherwise it’s really just a total waste of time.