Warning over cash for Catholic schools in the North
Catholic schools in the North could lose out under the government’s shake-up of education because of bias from the new central authority, it was claimed today.
Stormont education committee vice-chair Dominic Bradley warned of a possible conflict of interest in handing out money for services.
The new Education and Skills Authority will own the state colleges but not the Catholic institutions but will have to deal impartially with all.
SDLP MLA Mr Bradley said: “The Catholic Council of Maintained Schools (CCMS) see that as a conflict of interest.
“They say that the ESA would be more likely naturally to look after what they own themselves before they look at the other parts of the schools estates.”
CCMS chief executive Donal Flangan is to give evidence to the Assembly’s education committee later today.
He will be addressing the implications of the Review of Public Administration on education, the transfer test and the implementation of the recommendations from the Bain Report.
George Bain’s dossier was completed last December and outlined the way forward for schools including a rethink of numbers in the face of falling pupil enrolment.
Also giving evidence will be the heads of the education and library boards which are due to merge into the new education authority and the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).
