THE Ulster Unionist Party has come out against the policy of giving extra money to socially deprived schools in the North.
Mr Roy Beggs, MP for East Antrim and the party's education spokesman, told the Ulster Teachers Union Conference in Newcastle that he was concerned at the unequal distribution of funds to schools.
At present, the British government allocates 5 per cent of the education budget for deprived schools under its policy of targeting social need (TSN). "Every pupil should be worth the same amount of financial support. Our party has already been to see the Minister about this," Mr Beggs said.
Earlier, Mr Tommy Gallagher, SDLP candidate in Fermanagh South Tyrone, also criticised TSN. He claimed government policies on parental choice and formula funding were hitting disadvantaged schools and that TSN was inadequate. "Schools with difficulties must be given a real commitment by government on a long term basis," he told the conference.
Both speakers were addressing a session, along with the Alliance Party and United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP), on their policies for the forthcoming election. The Democratic Unionist Party was unable to attend.
There were few disagreements among the parties on education. All four opposed the current round of spending cuts, supported the extension of nursery education and backed the creation of a teaching council to govern the profession.
However, differences emerged over the 11 plus selection system and integrated education. Mr Beggs said most parents supported selection but that it should be kept under review. Ms Liz Roche (UKUP) said comprehensive education might be possible in an ideal world but parents should be able to select the best education for their children.
Alliance Party chairwoman, Ms Eileen Bell, said her party had always called for the 11 plus to be reviewed, perhaps to be replaced by selection at a later age. Mr Gallagher said the SDLP believed selection should be reconsidered as unfair and socially divisive.
Although all four parties favoured religious integration, they did so with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Mr Beggs supported voluntary integration but opposed funding from already scarce resources being spent on building a third sector when there were surplus places in existing schools.
Ms Bell strongly backed both shared schooling and education for mutual understanding in all schools. "We have been to the forefront in supporting integration and it was an Alliance Party peer (Lord Dunleith) who introduced the first legislation permitting it."
The conference unanimously voted for a new initiative to create a teaching council which would control entry into and conduct within the profession.
"If this happens, we will no longer be subject to madcap quangos or to the whims of people who have not been in school since the age of 16 or 18," said Ms Margaret Wilson, a former president. "We will be in charge of our own destiny."