Northern Ireland’s schools reproduce sectarianism on a ‘colossal’ scale, conference told

Northern Ireland’s schools are reproducing sectarian segregation on a “colossal” scale, an all-island seminar on education has heard.

The “Shared Island” conference on education in DCU on Friday, attended by more than 150 civic, political and education representatives, heard that just 7 per cent of schools in the North are integrated with the remainder divided on religious lines.

Peter Osborne, chair of the Belfast-based Integrated Education Fund said it was critical for the peace process to focus the next 25 years on ending segregation in schools and elsewhere.

He said that there had been little progress in reducing segregation in public housing, tearing down peace barriers or tackling religious division in schools since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

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“Education is of fundamental importance in addressing those issues of segregation. At the minute, almost all children are going to schools which are largely segregated,” he said.

“They are coming out of that school environment with their life patterns already set. They play different sports. The get involved in different cultural activities. They go to different youth organisations. They socialise in different ways,” he said.

“If that is not address in the next 25 years, we will not complete the peace process. It will take that length of time for children entering education to come out with a mindset that is much more inclusive and integrated.”

On an encouraging note, he said Northern Ireland’s biggest second level school – Bangor Academy – voted to go integrated last week, which will move the proportion of children attending integrated schools up from 7 to 8 per cent.

“Every single one of the 70 or so integrated schools in Northern Ireland were set up by courageous, visionary parents wanting something different for their children and their children’s children ... Not a single one was set by the Department of Education or other education providers.”

Andrew Brown, a lecturer, Stranmillis University College, said the reality was more complex and noted that in the case of Bangor Academy just 3 per cent of students were Catholic, while the other main Catholic school in the town – St Columbanus’ – was one of the most mixed schools in the North.

He also said that in, some cases, integrated schools did not celebrate cultural or significant events for either community such as Remembrance Day or St Patrick’s Day.

“So, instead of sharing and celebrating difference, there can be an avoidance of that,” Mr Brown said.

Writer Malachi O’Doherty, however, insisted that much of the commentary on these issues missed the gravity of the situation.

“The reality in Northern Ireland is sectarian segregation on a colossal scale. The reality of this is that the education system reproduces it from generation to generation. It is a highly undesirable situation.”

He said the Catholic Church was in charge of half of schools in the North even though “most are not going to church” and it needed to be scaled down.

The situation, he said, was “beyond what would be acceptable anywhere in Europe and is something like the racism in the southern states of America.”

Alan Hynes of the Catholic Education Partnership said Catholic schools “aren’t just for Catholics” and in some schools abroad Catholic pupils were a minority, while in France, England and Wales minority faiths were very attracted to Catholic schools.

“In Ireland, some those most vocal in their desire to remain Catholic are from other minority faiths: it’s offering education to anyone who wishes it, not just Catholics.”

Friday’s seminar, moderated by Prof Anne Looney, executive dean at DCU’s Institute of Education, is part of the Government’s “Shared Island Dialogue”, which series focuses on issues of common concern for all communities on the island of Ireland.