Issues like segregated schools and housing… symbols of history that are a source of pride for
some and pain for others… these are not tangential to peace, they are essential to it… if
catholics and protestants have their schools… if we can’t see ourselves in one another, if fear
and resentment are allowed to harden, that encourages division, it discourages cooperation.
President Obama, Belfast June 2013
An essential aspect of the reconciliation process is the promotion of a culture of tolerance
at every level of society and includes initiatives to facilitate and encourage
Integrated Education and mixed housing.
Good Friday Agreement 1998
The Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) welcomes this opportunity to
present to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement.
The Context
The Good Friday Agreement provides the road map for conflict transformation in Northern
Ireland. It constitutes the political framework for statutory bodies to tackle segregation and
inequality at all levels of society. The Agreement endorses the Education Reform (NI) Order
1989, which states in Article 64 that it is the responsibility of the Department of Education
‘to encourage and facilitate the development of integrated education’.
In this political context, integrated education is a fundamental avenue to redress community
segregation and promote good relations. This commitment to supporting integrated education
is based on an understanding of the important role education plays in shaping society. Society
in Northern Ireland remains divided; the absence of violence without underlying
reconciliation and genuine peace building, without addressing the structural forces of
segregation that characterised our conflict has been described as a ‘negative peace’ by
leading academic Professor Brandon Hamber.
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/education/inquiries-andreviews/shared-and-integrated-education/professor-brandon-hamber-incore-uu.pdf
The retention of structural segregation in education is a key component of a negative peace.
At the moment the Northern Ireland educational system reflects and reinforces division (cf
education in a divided society, The Detail, diagram 1, below).
The sectarianism which continues to be a feature of Northern Ireland life can only be
challenged through an open engagement with difference and division. All research shows that
sectarian attitudes are formed at a very young age. The research also shows unequivocally
that young people educated together in integrated schools are ‘inoculated’ against
sectarianism. Hayes and Mc Allister-Education as a Mechanism for Conflict Resolution
found that:… “individuals who attend integrated school are significantly more likely to have
friends and neighbours from across the divide and these friendships networks translate into a
more optimistic view of future community relations”. It concluded that:
‘… an integrated education system is not only a fruitful place to start but that it should be a
key element within a wider strategy for addressing community divisions.”
In its document ‘Every Child an equal Child’ (2008) the Chief Equality Commissioner stated:
‘it is hard to escape the conclusion that educating children of different backgrounds together
has the potential to reduce fears and tensions between communities that are founded on
ignorance. It is equally difficult to avoid the conclusion that the long experience of separate
educational provision has represented a lost opportunity for everyone in Northern Ireland.’
By educating children together, integrated education is building a strong foundation for peace
and for a shared future.
The definition
Integrated education is the educating together of children from catholic and protestant
backgrounds, and those from different faiths or of no faith, in an ethos that respects diversity,
and where children learn with, from and about each other. The underpinning principles of
integrated education are: equality, social responsibility, faith and values and parental
responsibility. In 2014, almost 22,000 young people attended sixty two integrated primary
and post-primary schools and colleges while a further 700 children who applied were turned
away because of insufficient places.
A recent judgement by Lord Justice Treacy in May 2014, in a judicial review initiated by
Drumragh Integrated College, reiterated the key characteristics of an integrated school:
‘education together at school of protestant and roman catholic pupils… integrated education
must be the service of imparting knowledge to young people from all backgrounds as equals.’
Historically, integrated schools were opened by groups of parents who were supported by
NICIE. Forty grant maintained integrated schools were established in this way. Twenty two
schools have transformed from being ‘single identity schools’ to becoming integrated through
a legal process, known as transformation. NICIE supports these schools through both the
legal process and the process of cultural change. Three controlled schools are going through
this process at the moment. No catholic school, to date, has transformed to become
integrated; the first catholic school to apply for this process did so this year (2015), but was
not successful in its proposal. This decision is now the subject of judicial review.
The present position
Whereas the more contentious issue of policing has been addressed through an independent
commission and a new police force, there has been absolute resistance to recognising the
need for educational reform or to promote structural educational change. Ninety two per cent
of our children continue to be educated in single identity schools.
The present segregated system of education in Northern Ireland is not sustainable. It does not
promote social cohesion, it reinforces the notion of separation and of the ‘other’, it increases
social segregation and it fails a significant number of children. It is not preparing our young
people for a rapidly changing and uncertain future. The duplication and triplicating of
resources is expensive and not sustainable in an era of austerity.
The need for change is reinforced by demographic changes: a protestant majority is evident in
the population aged forty and over. Under this age the majority of the population is catholic
with the trend more pronounced at younger ages. (Peace Monitoring Report, 2014, Paul
Nolan).
Diagram 2
If we maintain the status quo of our system of education then we can predict a shift from the
present share-out of schools where there is already a majority of catholic schools to a
situation where that majority becomes more pronounced. Such a situation is not a recipe for a
peaceful and cohesive future.
Education a force for change
The role of education as a powerful force in transforming societies, not least those emerging
from years of conflict, has been recognised and accepted globally. It is equally understood
that an education system that fails to deliver to all its participants the opportunities to develop
to their full potential is a flawed system. Underachievement, where measured in terms of
academic grades, is a major cause for concern among certain sections of Northern Irish
society, most notably protestant working class boys.
The challenges presented by an increasingly diverse range of pupils demand more than ever
an inclusive system of education. NICIE believes that an integrated school offers the best
means of dismantling the barriers and mitigating the marginalisation which contributes to
intolerance and disunity in society. The multi-cultural Northern Ireland of the twenty-first
century requires an educational system which reflects diversity and which aims to be a world
leader in enabling every child to overcome disadvantage.
The opportunity
NICIE suggests that insufficient attention has been given to the commitment to integrated
education contained in the Good Friday Agreement. It is our view that ‘future building’ is as
important as dealing with the past. NICIE argues that the time is opportune for a renewed
focus on the potential of education for building cohesion, equality and good relations.
Factors with potential to stimulate change:
The economy The economics of austerity is impacting on school budgets. The cost of
duplication through maintaining two parallel school systems cannot be justified.
Identity Our education system and the new development of shared education is structured on
the premise that there are fixed and unchanging cultures between which we promote
intercultural respect. This is a faulty premise which does not recognise that cultural identity is
not fixed at birth, that society is dynamic and diverse and that we are living in a changed
society where people identify themselves in many different ways and where many resist
being pigeon holed into the labels of the past. Northern Ireland is a very different society than
it was thirty five years ago when the first integrated school was founded. Young families do
not necessarily identify as ‘green’ or ‘orange’. There is much greater fluidity of identity (cf
Cultural Identity, The Detail, diagram 3). There are many who do not wish to designate and
there are many newcomers. Public opinion polls consistently show very high levels of
support for integrated education.
Diagram 3
Human Rights Increasingly discussion about education and equality revolves around human
rights. NICIE strongly urges that the right to an integrated education is a human rights issue,
both in the right of the young person to be prepared to be an active citizen in a diverse and
global world, and in the philosophical rights of parents to choose this type of school. It is not
acceptable that for most parents there is not an integrated choice available. It is not acceptable
to expect parents who are not successful in making this choice to accept a single identity
education. The NGO Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for
‘measures to address segregation of education in Northern Ireland’ (UN Committee 2008,
para 67(i)).
The Report of the UK Children’s Commissioners in its recommendations said: ‘The Northern
Ireland Executive should actively, support, promote and develop a fully integrated education
system.’ http://www.niccy.org/media/1488/uk-cc-report-recommendations-july-2015.pdf
Educational administration There is now a single education authority (EA) in Northern
Ireland replacing five education boards. This represents an opportunity for planning for
integrated education to be placed firmly within overall planning. To date, parents and schools
have been expected to plan for integrated education. This is inequitable and unfair. A new era
in educational administration allows for a consistent and proactive approach to integrated
education to be taken across the province. NICIE is lobbying strongly for the EA to accept
this responsibility.
Area based planning This process for planning for education was introduced in 2011. To
date planning has been conducted within sectors and the status quo of segregation has been
maintained. The weaknesses of the area based planning process have been highlighted in two
recent important reports: a report for the Education committee of the Northern Ireland
Executive:
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/reports/education/area-planning--final-report.pdf
and a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office on sustainability of schools:
http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk/135119_niao_sustnblty_in_schls_for_web_v6.pdf
The EA, directed by DE, should lead the way in ensuring that there is an integrated choice in
every area and that all parents seeking integrated education are assured a place in an
integrated school. NICIE argues that any proposals for change should be tested against the
obligation under the Good Friday Agreement to ‘encourage and facilitate integrated
education’. This is not happening.
New pathways and openness to change NICIE has developed a new pathway to integration,
Positive Partnerships for Integration (PPInt). This provides support to schools who wish to
move beyond their single identity status in developing an integrated ethos. A recent call for
expressions of interest for this process received a positive response from more than fifty
schools. Such an approach reforms from within and is based on education best practice.
NICIE has been grateful for support from DFA which has enabled us to develop and to pilot
this new approach. Over the last year NICIE has seen an increased interest from existing
schools to become integrated through the process of transformation including a historic
application from a catholic maintained school to follow this route.
Stormont House Agreement (SHA) The SHA includes a capital funding package of £500
million to be allocated over a period of ten years for integrated and shared education. NICIE
has developed a ten year plan to ensure this money is used to ensure a significant expansion
in integrated education.
PEACE funding Applications will be invited in September for funding from PEACE 4. £45
million has been allocated for shared education. Full immersion sharing as the norm happens
in integrated schools. To support and incentivise change it is critical that NICIE can access
significant funds to support schools choosing to integrate.
Conclusion
The factors outlined can contribute to the dismantling of the segregated system. NICIE is
hopeful that the Good Friday Agreement Committee will bring to the forefront the important
commitment to integrated education contained in the agreement. The Good Friday Agreement
Committee might also use its influence to ensure that support for integrating education is
included in the PEACE 4 funding round. The Good Friday Agreement Committee might
consider the radical step, long proposed by both NICIE and IEF, of calling for an independent
commission to be established to reform the educational system of Northern Ireland.
The embedding of peace needs constant attention; the dangers of following a path of
‘separate but equal’ must be challenged. The endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement by
the vast majority of people on this island represented a vote for a ‘shared future’. Educating
our children together is a critical building block of such a future.
No one is born hating one another because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or
his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to
love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
Nelson Mandela