CUTBACKS IN public funds for education were “inevitable”, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.
He
warned that these should be “properly thought out and monitored as
regards their real effect, especially on the poorest and the
educationally disadvantaged.”
He also said change in patronage of schools in Ireland was also inevitable, but that this was to the good.
Speaking
at the annual graduation ceremony for young teachers in St Patrick’s
College Drumcondra, Dr Martin said: “Times are hard. In today’s economic
and social uncertainty, we should not overlook the fact that even with
all our deficiencies Ireland has achieved so much in recent years.
“This
is due in great measure to the contribution of teachers. That
contribution has often not been adequately recognised. We owe our
teachers a great debt,” he said.
“Education in future will be
different. New patronage systems will replace the almost monopoly of
religious schools in a manner which respects the rights of parents, but
also of teachers.
“ That change is inevitable and it is good.”
However, there were two things he believed such change should constantly remember, evaluate and verify.
“Variety
in patronage should not result in difference of opportunity. Variety in
patronage should not lead to a two-tier educational system.
“We
have to be careful that variety of patronage turns out to be a true
contribution to pluralism and not just an opportunity for some to opt
out of integration,” the archbishop said.
Secondly, he felt, “we
have to be careful not to give the impression that somehow the principal
mark of a pluralist culture is putting religious values towards the
margins of society and that religious values do not belong within the
framework of public education.”
SIC: IT/IE