CONFERENCE DEBATES:ALLIANCE CONFERENCE delegates called for the extension of the 11-plus transfer test for another two years pending resolution of the disagreement between the North's grammar schools and Sinn Féin Minister for Education Caitríona Ruane.
The last 11-plus exam, which, depending on results, dictates which second-level school primary pupils transfer to, took place in November. Ms Ruane has proposed a system where children at 11 would transfer to post-primary schools without any transfer tests and at 14 make “informed choices on their educational pathway”.
However, because the Minister could not win full agreement on the Northern Executive, these proposals only have the effect of guidelines. More than 30 of the North’s grammar schools are threatening to stage their own transfer exams in place of the 11-plus.
In light of the confusion and controversy, the Alliance conference at the Dunadry Hotel on Saturday adopted a motion from education spokesman Trevor Lunn calling for an 11-plus-type exam to be retained for another two years.
Mr Lunn said Alliance supported the abolition of the exam but that extending academic selection for another two years was a necessary “short-term measure” in the current circumstances.
Alliance delegates heard rallying cries for support for Ian Parsley, its candidate in the European elections in June. Alliance leader David Ford insisted that Mr Parsley could make history by taking one of the three European seats in Northern Ireland currently held by the DUP, Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists while the candidate himself appealed for across-the-board support on election day on June 4th.
Mr Parsley, who is the 31-year-old mayor of North Down, said that while for his generation the fall of the Berlin Wall was the defining moment, there were still walls in Northern Ireland that must be toppled. “The recent atrocities in Antrim and Craigavon mean we must redouble our efforts to represent the whole of the new generation,” he said.
Mr Parsley, appealing for support from unionists and nationalists and from all age groups, said that so many people, particularly the under-30s, were disillusioned with party politics. “Yet never have they been so engaged by political issues – reforming post-primary education, defending our economy and promoting conservation,” he added.
“That is why this campaign is about improving our engagement with Europe, not by rolling over to every directive making us work for Europe, but by directing Europe to work for us,” he said.
“It is about improving our economic prospects, not by going to Brussels with a begging bowl, but by regulating to defend our small businesses and local charities against the arrogance of the big banks. It is about improving our environmental future, not through fines and scare tactics, but through determined promotion of our local communities.”
He continued: “An Alliance MEP on the back of a unity campaign would be a defining moment for Northern Ireland. It would tell the world that, once and for all, we are replacing the politics of fear with the politics of hope.”
North Down Assembly member Stephen Farry said Northern Ireland politicians must do everything in their power to mitigate the effects of recession while maximising the opportunities when economic recovery eventually comes. He said the “green economy” could be a major factor in such a recovery.
He accused the Northern Executive of engaging in populism rather than prudence and of missing an opportunity to market Northern Ireland as part of a “green” island. “In the United States, the Obama administration has launched an $800 billion fiscal stimulus. Over 10 per cent of this relates to the green economy.”
