At the time , for political reasons ( and I can’t fault you on your analysis of political imperatives vis a vis teaching practice), most scrutiny was directed at at classroom practice , the then government’s current ‘bee in its bonnet’.
For my sins , given the Dean of Faculty was responsible for the presentations of the University case, I chaired most of the proceedings. I remember a very animated discussion between faculty members and the visiting party over not whole class punishments , but so called group or , more pejoratively, mass punishments.( Actually I’m being a little cavalier : the word punishment itself was something of a no no, but I don’t see why we need always to go for politically correct synonyms !).