MORE THAN 1,500 Catholic primary schools will be transferred to
different forms of patronage, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said last Tuesday.
Speaking at the launch of the Forum on Patronage and
Pluralism in the Primary Sector, he said about 50 per cent of the 3,000
Catholic primary schools in the State would be divested.
Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin, he said, has noted that 90 per cent of all Dublin
primary schools are under his patronage, while the percentage of the
population who actively want a Catholic education could be as low as 50
per cent.
The Minister cited a 2007 survey by the Catholic Bishops
Conference on Education where only half of the Catholic parents
surveyed said they would choose a school under a religious denomination.
Earlier this month, Fr Michael Drumm of the Catholic School Partnership
said a transfer figure of 10 per cent was more realistic.
Mr Quinn said he believed “we should be ambitious about what we wish to
achieve in this area. If we aim high, there is a greater chance of
success. Am I doctrinaire or rigid about the 50 per cent figure?
Absolutely not.”
Everything, he said, would depend on local circumstances and demands. The forum will have three main themes:
Establishing the demand for diversity, taking into account parental wishes;
Working out the practicalities of managing the transfer or divesting of patronage; and
Examining how diversity can be accommodated in areas where there is not sufficient demand to justify a separate school.
The
advisory group to the forum, chaired by Prof John Coolahan, will
examine arrangements for the delivery of religious education in a way in
which rights of all members of the school community are acknowledged
and respected.
Mr Quinn said: “In schools under Catholic Church
patronage, the rights of parents to withdraw their children from faith
formation classes must be addressed in real and practical ways.”
Parents and local communities will be consulted before any transfer takes place.
Prof
Coolahan acknowledged the fear among some communities “that the church
and religion would be taken away”.
Pluralism, he explained, is not a
threat.
The State is not trying to uproot or erode rights.
It is about
giving those of all faiths and none the same rights, he said.
Thirteen
groups – including school management bodies and the National Parents’
Council – have been invited to make written submissions.
These will be
considered at a three-day public session in late June.
The public may
also make submissions.
Each of the main groups will be
cross-examined.
As the advisory panel is independent, it will also
question department officials about their priorities.
The group hopes to
prepare a final report for the Minister by the end of the year.
Educate
Together, the multidenominational school patron, has hailed the formal
opening of the forum as a “great opportunity” for Irish education.
Paul
Rowe, the group’s chief executive, said he had high hopes this will give
every parent a choice in the type of education for their child.