THE NORTHERN Ireland Executive is acting unfairly towards children, parents and teachers by failing to find agreement on education reform, a leading educationalist has claimed.
Prof Tony Gallagher said Sinn Féin and the DUP, which have stridently opposing views on the manner in which primary children transfer to second-level schools, should find some way of agreeing workable reforms.
Minister for Education Caitríona Ruane has already announced the abolition of the controversial 11-plus transfer test and insisted yesterday the way ahead is clear. She told the Assembly: "People right across the North understand exactly what's happening here.
"There's a small minority of people who are trying to block change. I'm moving forward with a range of proposals, broadening the curriculum, dealing with the 12,000 young people that we're failing every year." She vowed not to "preside over education apartheid".
However Prof Gallagher of Queen's University, and a key policy adviser to the Burns group on post-primary reform, said of her plan: "It's quite clear that she's not going to get it past the Executive." The main Executive parties had the power to veto each other, he added, and this was the central problem. "Partnership government should be about saying 'this is what we would like, so let's talk about what we can agree to put in place'. That's what they should be doing and they're not. They are sitting with their fixed positions shouting at one another."
Asked was he clear about what was going to happen beyond the proposed abolition of the 11-plus test, Prof Gallagher said: "No-one can be sure. At the moment we are stuck. There has been chat behind the scenes about what is possible - a compromise agreement which would give up selection at age 11 and have a more robust system for the schools to make a decision at age 14."