Sir, – Minister for Education Richard Bruton's commitment to accelerating progress to provide choice for parents in primary education is welcome ("Bruton plan backs church to transfer primary patronage", June 6th). And he is right to explore different avenues to address the growing demand for change.
However, continuing to promote the flawed and unpopular Community National School model over others is at best misguided, and at worst a further waste of public money. Devised by Mary Hanafin in 2007, this model relies on separating children of different faith backgrounds and attempting to provide religious instruction for all. Even if this weren’t divisive and impractical, it clearly does not address the actual demand for change, which comes from parents who want their children educated together in inclusive schools.
In surveys conducted by the Department of Education in 2012/2013, parents around the country expressed an overwhelming preference for the Educate Together equality-based school model; this model was preferred in 25 out of the 28 areas where the need for change was established. In the three areas where new primary schools were announced for 2016, only 70 children were registered for Community National Schools, compared to 1,173 children for Educate Together schools.
What parents want is not in question. What is required now is a properly funded programme to bring all the education partners together to make change happen. – Yours, etc,
EMER NOWLAN,
Educate Together,
11-12 Hogan Place, Dublin 2.
A chara, – Here we go again! The Minister for Education’s plan is once again tinkering around the edges. The State should get on with its duty, as outlined in the European courts, and manage all primary schools. The detail of how this can be achieved should be negotiated in the best interests of the children of the nation. It is encouraging that Richard Bruton in his proposals is prepared to recognise the wishes of parents with regard to the teaching of religion during school time. This could remove some of the fears and concerns of denominational patrons and speed up the process of divestment. What the Minister certainly should not do is repeat the mistakes of the past by replacing one dominant form of patronage with a new one. – Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó DÍOMASAIGH,
Dunsany,
Co Meath.
A chara, – Atheist Ireland claims our school system "is breaching the human rights" of atheists and those of minority faiths ("School patronage plans will worsen situation, says –Atheist Ireland", June 6th). Its solution is to deny the rights of everyone else to have their children educated in schools with a denominational ethos by removing religion from the schools – this despite the fact that local communities around the country founded these schools so their children could receive this kind of an education.
Atheist Ireland also claims the current system is used to “indoctrinate children”. What it calls indoctrination is, of course, nothing but the natural desire of parents to bring their children up according to their own values and beliefs. A purely secular system would deny them this. It would also serve to indoctrinate their children according to the values and beliefs of secularism.
The rights of small groups who do not share the beliefs of the majority must be both respected and vindicated, but this cannot be done by disregarding the rights of the majority. One of the stated goals of Atheist Ireland is to promote secularism. I hope it does not think that Irish parents are so foolish that they would give up their rights to determine the manner in which their children are educated in order to help this tiny group achieve its aims. – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.