TUV leader Jim Allister reminds Education Minister Michelle McIlveen of duty to provide Christian Religious Education and worship in schools

Last week a report funded by the Integrated Education Fund called for an end to “Christian focused” religious education and daily acts of worship in Northern Ireland schools.

The paper, by Dr Matt Milliken and Prof Stephen Roulston, argued for “radical change” and a single, more secular education system with an end to all academic selection.

Their report, ‘How education needs to change: A vision for a single system’ received core funding from the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and was produced by the United Nations-funded UNESCO Centre at Ulster University.

This week TUV leader Mr Allister has written to Education Minister Michelle McIlveen of the DUP, reminding her that the statutory duty on schools to provide Christian focused RE and worship still remains in place.

“Last week the University of Ulster published an Integrated Education Fund funded report calling for the repeal of legislation requiring “Christian focused” RE lessons and worship in schools,” Mr Allister said.

“This anti-God agenda amounts to a direct assault on the established ethos of schools throughout Northern Ireland.”

He added: “An important fact which is all too often overlooked when it comes to discussions on this issue is that many controlled schools were originally run by various Protestant churches in Northern Ireland before they were handed over to the state. This is an important fact to remember when one is discussing a proposal which would do away with God in the classroom and the assembly hall, despite the existing right to parental opt-out.”

“Many schools and families continue to recognise the value of including Christian instruction as part of the school day. Faith remains an important part of the identity of schools and children are more likely to develop as citizens when they have a clear values system which informs their actions towards others and their behaviour in society as a whole. Christian faith has been a cornerstone of education for many hundreds of years and has helped create the society in which we live.”

He added: “I have therefore tabled a question to the Education Minister reminding her of the statutory duty of schools to provide Christian focused religious instruction and acts of worship and asking her to commit to its retention”.

Ulster University and the Integrated Education Fund were invited to comment.

Dr Milliken, who co-authored the report, responded that the status quo has been found to be in breach of Human Rights legislation.

“The paper presented last week drew on empirical evidence and academic research from a multitude of sources to present a vision of how our education system could - and perhaps should - change in order to address the enduring problems of administrative complexity, duplication, societal division, underachievement and spiralling costs,” he told the News Letter. “At the same time, it is proposed that such changes would better prepare future generations to create and participate in a prosperous and shared future.

“I welcome Mr Allister’s willingness to engage in discussions around how the system of education here needs to be reformed to ensure that it can meet the needs of the whole population. Current arrangements for Religious Education and Collective Worship in Schools have recently been identified in a High Court ruling as being in contravention of Human Rights legislation; as they currently stand, Articles 21 and 22 of the 1986 Order are undoubtedly obstacles to the development of a genuinely inclusive education system.”

A Department of Education spokesperson said: “The Department is aware of the report from the Integrated Education fund. The Minister supports the right of the many thousands of children of all denominations to have an education which is based on a strong Christian ethos. This includes the provision of Religious Education and collective worship. There are no plans to repeal the legislation underpinning the Christian values and teaching in schools.”

In July the High Court ruled that an exclusively Christian-focused religious education in primary schools is unlawful, after a challenge by an anonymous ‘non-religious’ parent from Belfast for their seven-year-old daughter. However, the High Court did not conclude what the implications of the ruling would be and asked lawyers from interested parties to submit their views.