He said the Irish State’s claim to a pluralist education system is false as “its policy has become internally contradictory and has narrowed the real exercise of parental choice while claiming to promote diversity”.
He also noted that the State’s use of the designation “multi-denominational” [i.e., no faith ethos] is ambiguous and may mislead families as to the actual character of such schools.
This affects parental freedom of choice and “the cultural and religious identity of children, including the protections recognised in international human rights law”.
Mr Hynes-Cendrzak recommended that it be affirmed in law, policy and administrative practice that “parents are the primary educators of their children and that the State’s role in education is supportive and facilitative rather than monopolistic”.