SHADOW Education Secretary Natasha Ashgar has spoken out against the the Welsh Government’s decision to remove Of Mice and Men from the GCSE curriculum, arguing that banning the book is counterproductive and limits educational opportunities.

The Welsh Government has decided to remove the classic novella by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck, citing concerns over racial language and offensive themes.

Wales' Children's Commissioner Rocio Cifuentes welcomed the move, claiming it had been "psychologically and emotionally" harmful for some black children to study in class.

But South East Wales Conservative MS Ashgar, who became the first coloured woman to be elected to the Senedd in 2021., says: "Instead of banning Of Mice and Men, we should teach it within its historical context, showing students how overt racism and sexism was commonplace and accepted in the past, and why this was harmful and wrong.

"Censorship doesn't solve the problem; it prevents young people from confronting and understanding these prejudices some of which, sadly continue.

"Sadly even in 2024 we continue to see racism and sexism in society. If we want to tackle this then instead of banning a classic text, we would do better to challenge media companies that produce music containing misogynistic language and words with racism connotations.”

Of Mice and Men was written in 1937 by American author Steinbeck and describes the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, as they move from place to place in California, searching for jobs during the Great Depression.

Although a staple of the school curriculum, and despite highlighting the corrosive impact of racism, Of Mice and Men has been a target of censorship and book bans for its use of ‘racist language’, and it appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century.