New school body will deepen religious divides in Northern Ireland

A proposal from Northern Ireland’s Department of Education (DoE) to establish a new body designed to oversee controlled schools has been strongly criticised by Northern Ireland Humanists, who have warned that it would entrench division and hinder progress towards a fair and inclusive education system.

In response to these proposals, Northern Ireland Humanists argues that Northern Ireland’s education system is already far too fragmented along historic religious and sectoral lines, and that creating yet another organisation would only deepen that fragmentation. Instead, the response calls for a long-term shift towards a single system of publicly funded schools, where all children, regardless of religion or belief, learn together. That means having a single body overseeing all schools, rather than one for each sector. The submission also raises concerns that a new organisation would reinforce outdated boundaries and preserve religious and historical privileges, which can undermine equality and children’s rights in state-funded education. 

Controlled schools are state-funded schools in Northern Ireland that are traditionally associated with the Protestant community, though today they serve pupils from a wide range of backgrounds. While managed by the Education Authority, they are still shaped on religious grounds through ‘transferor representatives’ – who represent the interests of the Church of Ireland, Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church – on their boards. A recent poll found that a majority of adults in Northern Ireland did not agree with the legal requirement for church representatives to have these seats on school boards. Should the DoE press ahead and establish a new body, Northern Ireland Humanists argues that there should be no role for the representatives, and the organisation should be firmly neutral in its character and accountable solely to democratic and professional educational authorities. 

Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented:

‘Establishing a new organisation on divided lines only risks embedding division at a time when more and more people in Northern Ireland no longer see themselves along those traditional green and orange lines. The DoE should ask itself: Does this proposal bring children together, or does it entrench separation? In our view, it will do the latter. It will only serve to reinforce sectoral boundaries, lock in historical distinctions, and divert energy and resources away from the task of building a unified system that serves the whole community.

‘This proposal is therefore the wrong one. The DoE should be seeking to dismantle divisions in our education system, not increasing them. Northern Ireland needs a modern, inclusive school system, not new structures that push us further apart, and that is what the DoE should be putting its attention to.’