The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore has taken issue with plans to end the rule for national schools that gives protection of the status of religion in primary schools.
In a letter sent to local newspapers in his diocese, Bishop Phonsie Cullinan questions the apparent drive by Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan to create a “one-size-fits-all” system of education.
“The Minister has claimed that Rule 68 of the Rule for National Schools does not speak to ‘the diverse and welcoming nature of our modern school system’,” Bishop Cullinan writes. “This is not the case. Go into any parish school and you will see children of all colours, ethnic groups and religions.
He continues: “The Chief Inspector’s report for 2010-2012 found that 96% of primary schools cultivate ‘an inclusive, child-centred ethos’. It is urgent that if the Minister has information to the contrary, she should share it with denominational schools.”
Going on to address the issues of access to Church-backed schools and the ongoing process of divestment, Bishop Cullinan acknowledges that while there are cases of over-subscription to Catholic schools, “a real issue particularly in large centres of population”, he points out that “a baptismal certificate is not a primary requirement for entry into Catholic parish schools in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore and is only invoked if the school is short of places”.
On divestment of Catholic schools to other management bodies, the Bishop said he accepts that “there is a case for transferring patronage of some schools, so that parents’ rights as the primary educators of their children can be honoured. But in practice this is extremely difficult because of local opposition. Most people simply want their local parish school to remain the same.”
Facing this reality of opposition among parents, the Bishop questions the agenda lying behind the drive towards divestment.
“Is the Minister for Education and Skills attempting to develop a one-size-fits-all type of school in the education of young people and thereby ruthlessly promoting a secular philosophy of education?”
Meanwhile, the rate of school mergers in Ireland doubled last year as the Department of Education works to speed up the divestment process for alternative patrons to the Catholic Church, it has been reported.
This frees up school building which other patron bodies can avail of such as Educate Together.
According to The Irish Examiner, 15 primary schools merged in 2015, increasing from seven in 2014, nine in 2013, and five in 2012. There were three amalgamations in counties Dublin and Wicklow, two in counties Limerick, Tipperary, and Kerry. While counties Clare, Cork, and Galway had one amalgamation each at primary level.
Commenting on the amalgamations, Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan said: “I am trying to speed up the divestment process and I am in the middle of a round of meetings with all the patron bodies. I have met three of them in the last two weeks, the Catholic Bishops, the Education Training Boards and Educate Together.
The accelerated pace of amalgamations comes at a time when Minister Jan O’Sullivan plans to abolish Rule 68 for National schools, effectively ending the protection offered to the status of religion in schools, whether divested or remaining faith-based.
Additionally, 2015 saw a recommendation by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) that the law be altered so as to allow unbaptised children and those of minority faiths to apply for school places on the same basis as those drawn from the faith community served by a particular school, further diminishing the ability of faith schools to protect their ethos.
