New arrangements for the election of boards of management to the State's 3,200 primary schools are to be announced tomorrow by the Minister for Education, Mr al Martin.
The new procedures will involve the churches giving up majority control of the boards in return for guarantees on the ethos of their schools, it is understood. Agreement on the issue followed protracted negotiations between the Department of Education, the churches, the INTO and parents' bodies.
The new boards are to be elected before the end of the year. It is believed that schools will have eight board members - two teachers, two parents, two patron's nominees and two others who will be co-opted by the "core" board. One-teacher schools are to have a four-member board comprising one teacher, one parent, one nominee of the patron and one co-option.