Parents Defending Education slammed Republican presidential candidates Thursday for their handling of education on the debate stage.

Education was supposed to be one of the policy discussions on the debate stage but was in many ways glossed over and took up a total of 6 minutes in a two-hour discussion.

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Much of the debate time was dominated by China, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and former Vice President Mike Pence's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, in certifying the 2020 election.

“Education consistently ranks within the top five issues voters care about, but it certainly wasn’t within the top five issues that received the most attention last night," Parents Defending Education investigative fellow Alex Nester told the Washington Examiner. "We heard some candidates come out in support of parental rights and transparency, supporting students’ academic success, and curbing teachers unions’ control over classrooms."

"These are all great topics, but the American public heard very little in terms of what policies will get our country’s schools back in the right direction," she continued. "American parents deserve those answers.”

Some candidates, such as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), said they would eliminate the Department of Education, a policy position held by Republicans for quite some time.

DeSantis highlighted his record in Florida of getting rid of critical race theory and gender ideology, adding, "We need education in this country, not indoctrination." He also said he would try to increase the knowledge of American civics and the Constitution as president.

Ramaswamy called the Education Department the "head of the snake," adding that education is the "civil rights issue of our time." He said the funding for an abolished department would get redistributed to put money in the hands of parents.

The businessman also wants all high school seniors to be able to pass the standard U.S. citizenship test before graduating.

While Burgum signed several bills banning things such as critical race theory and gender ideology in schools, he put up a defense of teachers, saying the vast majority of them are good.

"The idea that every school district in the state and every teacher is somehow indoctrinating people is just false," he said.

Haley also downplayed some of the cultural issues that brought education to Republicans' attention, saying, "There's a lot of crazy woke things happening in schools, but we've got to get these kids reading." However, she did highlight that allowing men to play in women's sports is the "women's issue of our time."

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While those four candidates were the only of eight to be asked direct questions about education, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) noted at a separate point in the debate that he would fire Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Scott highlighted the "weaponization" of the Department of Justice in going after parents who spoke out at school board meetings, saying, "Under this DOJ, they're called 'domestic terrorists.'"