'Academic selection no longer necessary'
Writing for the News Letter, Education Minister Catriona Ruane defends the time she has taken to draft new education proposals which will be put to the Stormont Executive and her view that the selection system must be overhauled.
"Education has rarely been out of the news in recent months as speculators go into overdrive trying to force me to reveal my proposals for new transfer arrangements. Some of this speculation has been deliberately misleading in an attempt to suggest I do not have workable proposals.
Right from the start of this process, I made clear that I would not be rushed and would develop proposals that were well thought through and reflected as many views as possible.
That is why, for the past year I have been engaged with teachers, headmasters, parents and children from across every education sector.
I have engaged in extensive fact-finding and had discussions and consultations with the widest possible range of people interested in education.
I have been criticised for not having instant solutions to challenges facing our education system. I have been in office just one year and have been working on a range of progressive reforms that will transform our 60-year-old education system into one that is fit for the 21st century. New transfer arrangements form just one element in the reform programme.
I am also developing a strategy to improve literacy and numeracy skills and a new policy on sustainable schools.
I have always said I am opposed to academic selection. Not because I am opposed to academic education, quite the opposite. We have many successes in our education system and I applaud these.
Our system, however fails too many children and young people who leave school with poor skills in literacy and numeracy. I have spoken to many young people who tell me of the devastating effects of being told they have failed the 11-plus and are not good enough to go to a particular school. This year sees the last 11- plus tests and it is now difficult to find anyone who supported it.
I am not alone in my opposition to academic selection. The main Churches in the north have publicly stated their opposition, as have the main teachers' unions and organisations representing the business sector.
Across the north many schools do not use academic selection, yet produce excellent examination results. Just as importantly, they help to develop young people who are confident, creative and articulate, many of whom go on to third level education. These schools have successfully shown that academic selection is unnecessary in today's world.
It has been said that the 11- plus allows children from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to go to grammar schools and then on to university. While this is true in a very, very small number of cases, the indisputable facts are that academic selection actually increases exclusion of children from disadvantaged areas.
You just have to look at the low percentage of children in grammar schools on free school meals compared to secondary schools to recognise the huge gulf. Equality needs to be at the core of education, and it is my duty to ensure this happens.
In recent months, I have been engaged in extensive discussions with key participants across the education sector in an attempt to build a consensus on the way forward. I am now at the point of bringing my proposals to Executive colleagues and will do this on May 15. I then hope to put these proposals to the Assembly soon after.
When I set out my vision for education on December 4, 2007 I recognised that some schools may need time to adjust to the new arrangements and I said I would discuss this with them. During the recent discussions I made clear my views on how this can be achieved.
I also clarified my view that 14 should be the age for key decisions. Ideally at 11 a child would transfer to their nearest suitable school, largely on the basis of criteria around family, geography and community. Most children currently transfer to their first preference school on this basis.
Of course, some schools may be oversubscribed, but if we take account of the educational provision in a local area instead of just one school, it is unlikely there will be oversubscription and schools can work together to best meet the needs of young people.
After three years of post-primary education, at 14, the young person, in conjunction with parents, principals and careers advisors can decide which educational pathway they will follow – in much the same way as young people choose GCSEs now. This may be academic, vocational or both. For some children, this may involve a change of school, but this will be done on the basis of election not selection through testing.
It is important that our young people are made aware of the range of skills we need to help grow our economy, not just academic but also in the sciences and engineering.
By encouraging and facilitating collaboration between schools, young people can have maximum educational opportunities to avail of. The introduction of the Entitlement Framework in 2013 will further encourage schools to collaborate so they can offer the widest range of subjects.
We currently have 50,000 empty desks across the schools estate and this number is expected to increase in coming years.
I believe this gives us the flexibility to introduce my proposals without the need for extensive structural changes, and so minimal cost implications. We already have an extensive school building programme planned which can also facilitate some of the changes and my recently announced area based planning process will ensure adequate post-primary provision in all communities.
This demographic decline has also changed the nature of many of our schools, particularly grammars, many of whom now take a wide range of abilities. Many of them have effectively turned themselves into all ability schools, so we need to ask just how important academic selection is to them today.
I am moving ahead with my proposals to reform education in the north of Ireland and will discuss these with Executive colleagues on May 15. We cannot stay still. The world around us is constantly changing and we have to give all our children and young people the maximum opportunities to enable them to contribute positively to their community and our society.
Next week, when I announce my proposals, I encourage you to read them and decide for yourself if we can afford to do nothing. Our children and young people are relying on us to act in their best interests, for all their futures."
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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