The National Parents'Council - Primary has welcomed the agreement on the governance of primary schools, announced by the Department of Education last week. The agreement gives parents, teachers and school owners equal representation on primary school boards of management.
Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather, national co-ordinator of the NPCP, said the new agreement would "guarantee parents' and children's rights and will given legal voice to the constitutional rights of parents". She said no such agreement could negate the constitutional rights of parents and children in their choice of school.
The Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church have insisted on the insertion of clauses which allow them to refuse a place to a child if the child is not of their faith. The clauses have been criticised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.