The North's Education Minister has called on unionist politicians to reconsider their stance on the 11-plus and academic selection.
Mr Martin McGuinness suggested they were not "representing the best interests of the children in their constituencies" by appearing to be content with a system of selection at age 11 that denied educational opportunities to their own constituents.
He made the remarks in his address to the northern conference of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation in Newcastle, Co Down, yesterday.
Mr McGuinness said the question of the 11-plus examination, which identifies children for grammar school education, and academic selection were "inextricably linked".
"The issue is not about the test but about academic selection - because academic selection for some means academic rejection for the majority," he said.
Selection at primary level for second-level education is the subject of the Burns Report which the Minister commissioned. That report into post-primary education, which called for widespread changes to selection, is open for review until June 28th.
Mr McGuinness referred to "three key myths" about current arrangements. The first was that the North had a world-class education system which fared well internationally. The second myth was that academic selection provided a ladder to success for disadvantaged children.The variation in results showed that the system favoured some but performed poorly for the rest. The third myth about Northern education, he said, was that grammar school education was necessary to get into university and find a good job.