CAITRIONA RUANE, MLA, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
Published: 1 March, 2008
When the parties in the north came to making the decisions about what
departments they would take on, for Sinn Féin, there was only one choice
when it came to our first choice.
We took on the challenge of Education before with Martin McGuinness. And
again we relish the task of delivering the major educational reform that
is needed in the north to build a modern and flexible education system:
one that moves us away from the outdated 1947 institutional model.
We did so secure in the knowledge that many difficult challenges would
lie ahead.
Tá dushlán mór roimh cúrsaí oideachais sna sé chontae
The situation, which faces education in the North, is stark.
4,000 young people leave school every year without basic reading,
writing or maths skills.
Last year 1100 children left school without any qualifications.
12,000 children - nearly half of the entire student population - left
without effective passes in English and Maths.
Some have said to me in recent months that it would have been less
hassle just to continue with the status quo.
That is not what we are about.
Ní sin cuspóir s'againne
Mar Aire Oideachas, ní ligfidh mé droch-cúrsaí a bhaineann lenár
bpáistaí lean ar aghaidh mar seo, ba bócht an cás é.
As a Sinn Fein Minister I am not prepared to let a situation that fails
so many of our young people continue.
We have not sought political office to acquiesce to inequality and
discrimination. We sought political office to challenge and change such
disgraceful realities.
We currently have 50,000 empty desks rising to 80,000 - this presents us
with a great opportunity to effectively manage change.
Late last year, true to our manifesto commitment, I announced that 2008
will be last year of the 11+ and therefore began the most fundamental
and progressive transformation of the education system in the North
since partition.
The key element of my proposals was around how and when children would
transfer from primary to post-primary schools without the 11 plus.
Children starting post-primary schools after the last transfer test in
will do so under the new arrangements, based largely on family,
community and geographical criteria. Currently, pre-schools, primary
schools and many post-primary schools already use these criteria; so
many parents will already be familiar with them.
From 2013, the key age will be 14. The young person, in conjunction
with parents and teachers will choose their educational pathway. This
may be academic, vocational, or a combination of both.
To comrades in the 26 counties all of this will seem like perfect common
sense and similar to the system operating successfully in this part of
the island for decades.
The key to this radical reform is to engage directly with teachers and
parents. To challenge those who oppose a fairer education system for our
children.
The development of area based planning will design each area's
educational provision to ensure it meets local needs. One size does not
fit all. Rural needs differ from urban needs, and this will be reflected
in this approach. Area based planning criteria are at an advanced stage
and I plan to announce them shortly in the Assembly,
People should not under estimate the nature of the opposition to
educational change - to the status quo that benefits a few to the
detriment of the many. Much of it is political, some of it is based upon
class - all of it is designed to thwart change.
But this is too important an issue to be swayed, bullied or shouted
down. Republicans are made of sterner stuff than that.
Let the message go out loud and clear from this Ard Fheis - We will
build a system based on equality - Equality is my watchword. Equality of
access, Equality of opportunity. We plan to bring our education system
into the 21 century and lay down a foundation that will ensure
educational excellence and greater participation that gives all of
children the best start in life.
Tús maith leath na hoibre, ar aghaidh linn a chomrádaithe
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