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TODAY more than 30 grammar schools in Northern Ireland have announced that they are to set up a company to manage an independent test to replace the 11-Plus.
Continue Reading E-mail April 24th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Ulster Unionist spokesperson for education Basil McCrea MLA has reacted angrily to a leaked Sinn Fein document which has exposed the Educations Minister Caitriona Ruane’s intention to bullying Northern Ireland grammar schools into submission.
In a statement he said: “This internal Sinn Fein paper demonstrates that the promises supposedly negotiated at St Andrews by the DUP are worthless. Despite all the claims made by the DUP, the Sinn Fein Education Minister is determined to introduce guidance for post-primary schools that will make any use of academic criteria in the transfer procedure next to impossible.”
Continue Reading E-mail April 16th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has said the Education Minister should not use the lower birth rates as an opportunity to cut teacher numbers in her bid to make financial savings in education.
Assemblyman Dr Coulter, who served as a member of the first Assembly’s Further and Higher Education and Training Committee and was himself a college lecturer for 18 years, emphasised that public services should be governed by quality and not just cost-effectiveness.
He added that there was “an urgent need” for the Education Minister to begin making major choices in the direction of quality delivery of public services.
Dr Coulter continued: “In the next decade, school pupil numbers will decline as a result of lower birth rates. Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to cut down on the number of teachers and save money, the Minister should be using this as an opportunity to cut down on class sizes. This would be a positive decision in favour of quality.
“The Finnish and Danish education systems are widely recognised as the best in the world. They also have the lowest class sizes. The Office for Standards in Education has shown that this is a key feature of education in both Finland and Denmark.
“We are going to have to shift education on to a quality footing, otherwise we cannot hope to compete with low wage economies in the Far East. Instead, we should be focusing more on innovation and quality and on building a high-tech, high-value added economy like the Scandanavian countries.
“We should also be looking at ways to rebuild the cohesiveness of our society and a greater sense of order and calm among our people,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.
E-mail April 3rd, 2008 Alex Benjamin
This was the message from Carrickfergus Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark Cosgrove in his speech to North Down Ulster Unionists at their AGM held in Groomsport Boat Club.
Speaking to a packed audience including Lady Slyvia Hermon MP and North Down MLA’s Leslie Cree and Alan McFarland, Mr Cosgrove spoke of the current political climate in Northern Ireland and told fellow Unionists…
Continue Reading E-mail March 13th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Basil McCrea Assembly member for Lagan Valley and Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson for Education speaking in an Assembly debate today called on the Minister for Education, in light of recent cuts, to provide further funding for Youth Services in Northern Ireland. Mr. McCrea welcomed the metaphor that Youth Services are the Cinderella of the Education system; they work slavishly for the good of others for very little reward.
In a statement Mr. McCrea said,
“Most Youth Services are provided by volunteers who work long hours for very little if any monetary reward. They are indeed the Cinderella of the Educational System and this means that when cuts are required they are an easy touch, they are perceived as nice to have, but not essential.
I consider this attitude to be completely ill-judged. Young people in our society are under extreme pressure to achieve at school whilst dealing with social, biological and psychological changes. The traditional support group of the family is also changing as parents often have to double job to survive while family break up can have a significant impact on children and young people. Youth Services provide the support and an outlet that allows children to develop to their full potential. They are a support to the traditional institutions, to the family and schools and in many cases they are a life line.
This is seen nowhere more truly than in areas of social deprivation. Mentoring, support and even a safe place to have fun and enjoy new experiences is often crucial in ensuring that adolescents do not drift towards undesirable behaviour. It is a benefit to children and communities if we invest early in life so that young people can fully participate in and gain from society. Short-term financial savings can often be a matter of placing a much greater bill in the post to be dealt with at a latter date by somebody else, somewhere else.
I urge the Minister of Education and indeed the Minister for Finance and Personnel to take a step back; they must stop looking at this issue in short-term monetary conditions and plan for the future betterment of our children and society by re-investing in Youth Services in Northern Ireland”.
Continue Reading E-mail March 5th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Basil McCrea Ulster Unionist Education spokesperson and Ken Robinson MLA for East Antrim and member of the Education Committee have declared their exasperation at the Sinn Fein Education Minister’s refusal to bring any new information before the Assembly. They also claim the Education Minister has shown contempt for the democratic process by criticising MLAs for asking questions in the Assembly and Education Committee
In a statement Mr McCrea said,
Today Minister Ruane attacked the Assembly’s Education Committee, MLAs, and the media for having the audacity to ask questions about the future of our schools. The debate in the Assembly was a frightening revelation of the Minister’s incompetence and her unwillingness to be held accountable. Accountability is at the very heart of parliamentary democracy. The purpose of the Northern Ireland Assembly is not to be a tame, safe platform for an Education Minister to mouth meaningless platitudes about ‘vision’ and ‘change’ but a chamber in which she is held to account, answering meaningful questions about her actions – or lack of them.
“It is now clear the Minister is determined on narrow, partisan ideological grounds to force a show-down with a majority of the Assembly and with the Assembly’s Education Committee. This is nothing less than a staggering abdication of her responsibility to Northern Ireland’s parents and schools”.
Mr. Robinson said, “Like many other Assembly Members I am deeply saddened that the Education Minister has – once again – refused to work with the Assembly and the Education Committee for the future of education in Northern Ireland. In her deliberately confrontational speech today, she practically boasted of her intent to ram her ill-thought out ‘vision’ through the Assembly, in the face of overwhelming opposition from the elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland. For the sake of our children’s futures she cannot be allowed to succeed in her desire to destroy Northern Ireland’s hard-earned reputation for educational excellence”.
Continue Reading E-mail February 26th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has praised the number of schools from Northern Ireland, the Republic and Europe which had participated in the Assembly education programme.
Dr Coulter made his remarks during questions to the Commission at Parliament Buildings.
Continue Reading E-mail January 24th, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Rev Dr Robert Coulter MLA, Ulster Unionist Health Spokesman, today called for a new code of practice in advertising to children covering television, the internet and the schoolroom.
“Advertisers know that promoting brand loyalty among younger children about seven years old builds a brand loyalty which lasts for a lifetime. That is why big firms sponsor classroom packs and educational aids. It has nothing to do with their social conscience. It has more to do with them poaching customers early.”
Continue Reading E-mail January 21st, 2008 Alex Benjamin
Ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled meeting of the Executive, Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today asked what a Minister had to do to break the Ministerial Code after he received an answer to a written question he put to the First and Deputy First Minister that in their opinion, Catriona Ruane did not break the code when she made her education announcement without Executive approval or consultation.
In a statement an incredulous Mr McCrea said,
“Not only did Minister Ruane make an absolute mockery of the DUPs much mooted improved ministerial accountability but she drove, as I see it, a horse and cart through the Ministerial code by making an announcement on Education without consulting a single one of her Executive colleagues.
Education is one of the most important and significant policy areas in government. In fact after St. Andrews the DUP trumpeted the fact that they had saved academic selection and that Ministers could no longer do solo runs like Martin McGuiness. History seems to be repeating itself. The choices made in education impact children’s and parents lives, their prospects and their aspirations. It also affects our economy in a number of ways.
Just to re-iterate the Education Minister by-passed all of her Executive colleagues, by-passed the Assembly Committee and if she could have gotten away with it, would have tried to by-pass a proper debate in the Assembly. This, given the sensitive nature of her proposals and not least the fact that they cut across the cross-community requirement, should have been run past the Executive. It should be remembered how some in the Executive reacted to Margaret Ritchie’s decisions on the CTI money. The way in which Minister Ruane was allowed to behave illustrates the double standard that the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP were referring to in October. There is clearly one law within the Executive for Sinn Fein and another for the SDLP.
I saw no evidence of Ministers jumping from the front benches to the back benches to challenge Catriona Ruane on her statement. Indeed the First and Deputy First Minister seem rather relaxed about a fellow Minister running amok on such a vitally important policy area. The question has to be asked therefore what on earth a Minister has to do to break the Ministerial Code?
I have asked my Party Leader to ascertain, at tomorrow’s meeting what constitutes a breach if this does not.”
Continue Reading E-mail December 18th, 2007 Basil McCrea MLA
Ulster Unionist Education Spokesman Basil McCrea today created a rare moment of consensus in the Assembly when all political parties declared their support for clarity and a detailed road map from the Education Minister on her proposals.
To date there has been precious little detail on her ‘vision’ which has left education professionals, commentators and MLAs perplexed and, in addition, the manner in which she made her announcement without proper Executive consultation may well have broken the Ministerial code.
Mr McCrea, in a bid to avoid confrontation on such an important issue, sought and gained unanimous Assembly support for his amendment which called on the Minister to provide greater clarity on the processes outlined within her proposal.
In a statement Mr McCrea,
“While we still have major reservations about the Minister’s proposals this important debate was being bogged down in political rhetoric. The Assembly, on such a vitally important subject – our children’s education – saw the value of a measured and rational approach and one which the Minister cannot hide behind.
We want the Minister to clear up the confusion she has created. We need to get to the bottom of her ‘vision’ and have a proper debate on the issues and processes. There is little point in the Minister asking the Assembly to share her vision when we can’t get a clear view of what that vision is.
The support given by the Assembly to our amendment should clear up some of the fog. I think the Minister herself realises that she has overstepped the mark and was treating the Assembly and her Executive colleagues with disdain.”
Continue Reading E-mail December 11th, 2007 Basil McCrea MLA
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