Sir, – Diarmaid Ferriter (“Much of discord in Northern Ireland rooted in failure to integrate schools”, Opinion & Analysis, November 5th) is to be commended for highlighting what has, rather unbelievably, been a glaring omission amid all the talk of a united Ireland in the not too distant future.
If a united Ireland comes to pass, what kind of education system will this new state have? Will we have a continuation of the status quo whereby the vast majority of publicly funded schools in the North and the South are under the control of religious patrons and children are segregated along religious lines? Have any of our elected representatives given any thought to this?
Segregating children along religious grounds is not healthy for a society, be it in the North, or anywhere else. We should be moving away from a model which is dominated by religious patrons and marked by segregation and indoctrination, toward a more integrated, inclusive education system.
As things stand, religious segregation is enshrined in the very DNA of society from a child’s formative years. Segregation breeds tribalism and a sense of the other, the unknown. These in turn can breed fear, prejudice and sometimes even hatred. This is what has happened in the North. Not only do we not have separation of church and state on both sides of the Border in education, in the North there is a religious wall of separation between children from the two traditions.
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Would it not be better to bring children together, where then can learn about each other and learn to respect one another and even become friends? It would provide children with the opportunity to receive an education alongside their peers from other religions and none and overcome any sense of fear of the other before it becomes embedded in their minds.
A united Ireland would offer the chance of an education system befitting a true republic.
It might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.