There will be an entrance exam on November 21st next to select children for the vast majority of Catholic Grammars according to the Catholic Heads Association. Twenty eight leading grammars have said they will use the exam based on English and Maths papers and more are expected to follow in the coming days.
This bring to three the total number of different exams children could face to get a grammar place. A true sign that deregulation has failed and that the Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane MLA, is now presiding over a slowly unfolding crisis of unprecedented proportions.
Showing posts with label catholic education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catholic education. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Monday, 30 March 2009
Catholic Commission issues statement
Ten years after the Good Friday Agreement a Sinn Fein Minister has delivered the ultimate act of educational segregation and division with the effective creation of a Catholic 11plus and a Protestant 11plus.
The BBC reports that The Commission for Catholic Education has given the go-ahead for Catholic grammar schools in Northern Ireland to set entrance exams.
However, it has also restated its position that academic selection of any kind should end by 2012.
Some Catholic grammar schools have said they will set entrance exams in the absence of an official test. The commission said that in the absence of a regulated system of transfer, academic test may be appropriate in the short-term, particularly for those post-primary schools which are oversubscribed.
NICCE chairman Bishop Donal McKeown said: “This is a clear statement from the Catholic trustees that academic selection at age 11 has no place in a modern education system.”
The commission stressed that Catholic schools which opt to use the tests must ensure they do not discriminate against any child, avoid a multiplicity of tests and should be used for only a limited period of time.
The church has been trying to keep the support of Catholic parents who want their children to go to a grammar school but who could choose to leave the sector and apply for non-denominational grammar schools instead.
Today’s decision is an honest act on behalf of the Catholic Commission to show some leadership on this issue. It will however do nothing to prevent the inevitable chaos which will now ensue. It is a dark day for politics and a total indictment of Caitriona Ruane’s stewardship as Education Minister.
The BBC reports that The Commission for Catholic Education has given the go-ahead for Catholic grammar schools in Northern Ireland to set entrance exams.
However, it has also restated its position that academic selection of any kind should end by 2012.
Some Catholic grammar schools have said they will set entrance exams in the absence of an official test. The commission said that in the absence of a regulated system of transfer, academic test may be appropriate in the short-term, particularly for those post-primary schools which are oversubscribed.
NICCE chairman Bishop Donal McKeown said: “This is a clear statement from the Catholic trustees that academic selection at age 11 has no place in a modern education system.”
The commission stressed that Catholic schools which opt to use the tests must ensure they do not discriminate against any child, avoid a multiplicity of tests and should be used for only a limited period of time.
The church has been trying to keep the support of Catholic parents who want their children to go to a grammar school but who could choose to leave the sector and apply for non-denominational grammar schools instead.
Today’s decision is an honest act on behalf of the Catholic Commission to show some leadership on this issue. It will however do nothing to prevent the inevitable chaos which will now ensue. It is a dark day for politics and a total indictment of Caitriona Ruane’s stewardship as Education Minister.
Saturday, 14 February 2009
The future of Catholic education?
The Catholic Church has been regularly criticized for its lukewarm attitude to integrated education. In particular, the Church authorities have always made clear their opposition to transformation, that is, the right in legislation for parents to vote to change a school to integrated status. In consequence only controlled schools have transformed since 1989. The argument the Catholic authorities have always advanced against transformation is that a school belongs to a community, not to a particular group of parents, and that therefore it is wrong for the interests of a particular group to over-ride the interests of a wider community. Now, whether you accept this argument or not, it suddenly seems weaker. In the impasse over the future of academic selection some Catholic grammar schools have announced their intention to continue selecting on the basis of tests and many more are expected to follow. This is despite the clear acceptance by the Catholic Bishops of the need for an end to academic selection at 11 on social justice grounds. In an attempt to restore some coherence to the Catholic sector, the Bishops have asked a group of secondary and grammar principals to seek agreement on a way forward. If they fail and some or most of the Catholic grammar schools go their own way, then we may be witnessing the end of the Catholic education system in any meaningful sense of the term.
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