We need co-operation not continued conflict

The 11-Plus transfer test was something which had been talked about, condemned and consulted on for generations.

As Minister of Education in a previous Executive, I believed this method of branding our children failures as they came out of primary school was shameful.

I was very strongly of the view that the needs of children had to be front and centre in the debate around post-primary arrangements. It was also clear to me that others with vested interests were more concerned to put the needs of institutions over and above the needs of children.

For decades before our agreed political institutions were established, London-based ministers ignored the need for fundamental change in our education system.

For me, schools exist to educate all our children. Schools which wish to educate only some of our children are failing the social justice test.

We, as local ministers, however, do not have the luxury of hiding behind myths and slogans in the hope that the next person will tackle the problems. At its core, the issue in education is an equality issue. For me, it is a social justice issue. It is a civil rights issue.

It is wrong and unacceptable that a child's education and life opportunities should be affected adversely by their socio-economic circumstances. It is unacceptable for one group of well-resourced schools to insist that they should be allowed to pick and choose the children they want to teach and to reject those they don't.

It is wrong that 95% of the children from Malone, but only 20% of those from the New Lodge and much less from the Shankill Road are allowed through the gates of this group of publicly funded schools.

Our responsibility is for all children - not just the most advantaged. My Sinn Fein colleagues and I were elected on the basis that we would target social need to counter the disadvantages many children face because of where they live. We are a party which believes in social justice.

A system that perpetuates the gap in achievement between our most disadvantaged and our most affluent is clearly in need of change. A system that achieves for some pupils at the expense of others is far from world-class.

Our system of education has been falling short in too many cases, so we had no choice but to move to end the old two-tier system falling apart under the weight of its own contradictions.

The best education systems in the world are non-selective. This is a proven fact supported by international monitoring of education systems.

The 11-Plus is now gone and it won't be coming back. Most people, including many in the grammar sector, have accepted this, but some are still trying to cling to the old ways. Their day, too, has gone.

We have seen how the Commission for Catholic Education has grasped the nettle with its plans to overhaul post-primary provision. This will ensure a network of schools capable of providing the education children need in a 21st century economy - all children.

The proposals we have seen are fully consistent with the policies of my ministerial colleague Caitriona Ruane. In particular, they are geared towards providing modern, sustainable, non-selective schools capable of delivering the breadth of curriculum necessary for our rapidly changing world.

I applaud the Commission for Catholic Education. The need for change is also supported by the Catholic bishops who have shown real leadership in pursuing a system of education with social justice at its core.

However, it is not only the children in the Catholic sector who need a modern system of schools capable of delivering the broad range of specialist subjects to enable them to thrive and prosper in their adult lives. All our children are entitled to the best education we can provide. The education and library boards are not fit for purpose. They cannot deliver this.

This fact was recognised before the institutions were resurrected in 2007 when plans for the establishment of an Education and Skills Authority (ESA) were already well-advanced.

Three years on and the education and library boards are even less capable of delivering for the Controlled sector. As a result, the gap in performance between sectors is set to widen further unless strong leadership is shown by political unionism.

The Executive endorsed an agreement to establish ESA in November 2008. For whatever reason, the unionist parties have reneged on that agreement.

Caitriona Ruane and the Department of Education have worked assiduously to allay the concerns of all stakeholders, including the Protestant Transferors. Ten separate options have been proposed, explored and rejected.

The minister will continue to work to provide assurances to those who have difficulty with what most people agree is necessary and long-overdue change.

She cannot, however, bring forward legislation which is neither competent or lawful. It isn't Caitriona Ruane saying this - it is the lawyers and the legislative draughtspeople.

It is simply not enough to hide behind the slogan 'What we have we hold' whenever what we hold might not be very good and is becoming even worse.

I appeal to the leaders of unionism, to the transferors and to those within the education and library boards to start thinking about the future of education in the non-Catholic sectors rather than digging trenches around a system that cannot improve.

Education does not have to be conflictual. I'm asking you today to embrace the new era, the challenges we all face, and to move on with the rest of us.

Working together we can create a truly world-class system that serves the needs of all our children and a modern economy.