Sir, - The Minister for Education, Mr Martin, told the Primary Teaching Sisters' conference that "perhaps too few have acknowledged the debt this country owes you and those who came before you" (The Irish Times, April 17th).Perhaps it is time now for many thousands of us to acknowledge the opportunities afforded us in religious-run schools. It was not until the 1960s that the State began to provide "free" education. In harsher decades education and opportunities were provided for many children by religious orders.I have the greatest sympathy for those who suffered acts of cruelty by religious and nothing can excuse some of those acts that have recently come to public notice. The hurt and suffering of victims needs to be acknowledged, but not all religious are guilty by virtue of having worn a habit. Indeed, the only time I experienced real cruelty was from a lay teacher (herself the mother of young children) in national school.I received all of my secondary education from the Sisters of Mercy over a six-year period. They were strict disciplinarians and some resorted to corporal punishment on occasions, but many were excellent teachers who passed on a love of learning and books (including a love of the Irish language) that has survived to this day.Their contribution to our education, however, did not stop with merely enabling us to achieve good results in the certificate examinations and so to be moderately successful in life.Many of us are indebted to the sisters for moral guidance, appreciation of the role of God and faith in our lives, a firm grasp of the fundamentals of first principles and the ability to discern right from wrong, which they passed on to us. This has stood us in good stead down through the years, particularly when the chill winds of adversity blew around us.By a very deliberate choice, I have entrusted the secondary education of my own three daughters to a religious-run school and hope they will be able to speak in positive terms of their experience 40 years from now. - Yours, etc., Anne Kennedy(nee Hynan),Belgard Heights, Tallaght, Dublin 24.