Irish funding 'outstrips preps'
THE Department of Education gives Irish language schools more than three times as much funding per pupil as it gives to prep schools.
Prep schools are allocated just 800 per pupil, less than half the average (2,911) per primary school pupil.
But the department allocates 3,371 for every pupil attending Irish language schools and 3,024 per pupil attending integrated schools.
Education Minister Caitriona Ruane has angered prep school children, their parents and their teachers by proposing to end all government funding to these schools.
During a heated debate in the Assembly on Monday, all parties apart from Sinn Fein called for more consultation over the future of prep schools.
Chair of the education committee Mervyn Storey said there is a "clear inequality in the way in which prep schools are funded compared with Irish medium schools".
"It is quite clear the minister's definition of equality is completely different to everyone else," he told the News Letter.
"This raises the issue of equality of education that is received by those who attend prep school compared with those who attend Irish language schools."
The DUP man said a report by the Inspector of Education was "critical of the competency of the teachers in the Irish medium sector".
"We have the state paying in excess of 20 million to a sector which the inspector says is consolidating, yet the minister claims is the fastest growing.
"It only educates one per cent of the children in Northern Ireland yet receives a hugely disproportionate amount of government funding.
"That is why we are saying what the minister is doing is wrong. In fact there should be questions asked on why prep schools receive so little funding."
A spokesman for the Department of Education defended the figures: "It is important to highlight why there are differences in funding.
"Integrated and Irish medium schools are higher as these new sectors are entitled to additional support.
"Higher average funding levels per pupil in Irish-medium and integrated schools will, in part, reflect the greater proportion of smaller schools in these 'growing' sectors.
"Also, government has a responsibility to the Irish language through the Good Friday Agreement, the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages and the St Andrews Agreement."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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