Unionists won't back three-year phasing out of transfer testing

Education

Ruane now faces double trouble

Thursday, May 15, 2008

THE Education Minister's plan to phase out academic selection over three years is to be rejected by unionist members of the Executive today.

Caitriona Ruane will this afternoon present her new proposals on school transfers — even though the paper has already been leaked and reported in the media.

The UUP and DUP have confirmed to the Belfast Telegraph that they will not support the Minister's suggestion that grammar schools be allowed to select 50% of their pupils based on their academic ability in 2010, 30% for the intake in 2011 and 20% in 2012. Ms Ruane has proposed that by 2013 all admissions should be based on non-academic criteria.

Basil McCrea, Ulster Unionist education spokesman, said that his party will push for the establishment of a ministerial sub-committee to look at the issue and report back before the end of next month.

Sinn Fein education spokesman John O'Dowd said he did not want to pre-empt the Executive's discussions.

"For the first time the various parties will be able to sit down and give their reflective view on the proposal. Let's see what comes out of this," he said.

It can also be revealed today that the Minister's intention to establish a new single education authority by April 2009 is hanging in the balance. The DUP and Ulster Unionists have told the Belfast Telegraph that they no longer support the plan to replace the five education boards with the Education and Skills Authority (ESA). Her handling of this issue has also been seriously questioned by the SDLP.

The ESA bill is due to be discussed by the Executive next week.

The Education Minister will face a major crisis if the future of both an 11-plus replacement and rationalisation of education administration are left in limbo.

Mr McCrea said: "If the Minister fails again to agree to the sub-committee then we will be worried that ESA will give too much control to the Minister."

DUP education spokesman Sammy Wilson said his party had a number of concerns about ESA.

"The first is that ESA will have the power to interfere in an unprecedented way with the running of schools," he said.

"We have been assured that the savings ESA will achieve could be made immediately by the current boards working more closely together.

"Another problem is that the draft bill does not specify what the regional structures will be and we do not yet know what role the sectoral interests will play.

"I believe the bill should not even go to the Assembly."

SDLP education spokesperson Dominic Bradley said in response to Ms Ruane's school transfer plan that she had caved into pressure from those opposing reform.

"This is clearly a climb-down from the Minister's stated position on academic selection and has all the hallmarks of a hastily cobbled together deal by the DUP/ Sinn Fein Government," he said.