NSW Govt accused of rewriting history over BC ban

New South Wales' Opposition education spokeswoman Jillian Skinner says the Government's obsession over political correctness saw it remove the term "BC" from a year seven test yesterday.

Mrs Skinner says 150,000 public school students who sat the English and literacy assessment test yesterday were given a paper that referred to the year 590 BCE, with a note saying it stood for Before Common Era, instead of Before Christ.

She says it is a case of history being re-written and parents have expressed their anger over it.

"The Government is indoctrinating their children against terminology that has been around for centuries," she said.

She says the term "common era" is unclear.

"Is this one of the reasons why parents are taking their kids out of Government schools?" she said.

Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt has admitted a mistake was made in removing the term from the exam paper.

Ms Tebbutt says while BCE is used in academic circles and museums, she agrees it is not appropriate for schools.

"The department should not be changing texts, I've made that very clear," she said.