Bible 'science' claim goes too far for Almitas Academy
Private academy run by Bernard Chan's wife won't teach that Loch Ness Monster is real
The Loch Ness Monster has no place in a school science curriculum, according to the head of a Hong Kong school run by the wife of an executive councillor.
It does, though, at the Eternity Christian Academy in Westlake in the US state of Louisiana - which, like the Almitas Academy in North Point, uses the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum.
The American school will teach its pupils the mythological sea creature is real in order to debunk the theory of evolution.
Chan expressed her shock at the American school's science course and said her school had no intention of bringing in any curriculum that had anything to do with the Loch Ness Monster.
"I'm very surprised by this situation in the United States," she said. "We have not come across such messages in the textbooks we are using and thus we will not be teaching it."
The North Point institution is an "alternative" private primary school established last year by Peck Leng Chan, wife of executive councillor Bernard Chan, initially to educate their two sons Brandon, 12, and Bradley, nine. This academic year it has 12 pupils.
According to US media reports, one ACE textbook, , reads: "Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland? 'Nessie' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur."
Religious schools, including small, Bible-based church schools, in Louisiana have newly become eligible for a scheme to publicly fund private-school tuition fees.
