Kennedy slammed over plans to abolish 11-plus

The minister responsible of Northern Ireland's education portfolio has pledged to push ahead with the abolition of the 11-plus transfer procedure.

In answer to a written question from the UUP's Roy Beggs in the House of Commons yesterday, Jane Kennedy said "there was a clear demand for change". Afterwards, Mr Beggs accused the Minister of a "tyrannical disregard for the will of the people of Northern Ireland".

Jane Kennedy said: "Responses to extensive consultation on the Burns Report showed almost universal support for the abolition of the 11-plus Transfer Tests and a predominant view that academic selection should be ended, although there was also substantial opposition to this proposal.

"There is a clear demand for change in order to address the weaknesses of the current system. It is important that we continue to make progress on this key issue and the Department will be meeting the key education partners to build consensus on new transfer and post-primary arrangements that are fair for all children and enable all children to reach their full potential."

However, the UUP East Antrim MP said that Ms Kennedy’s decision to push forward plans to abolish the 11-plus transfer procedure was "ignoring the majority of public will in Northern Ireland".

Mr Beggs said: “The current education system in Northern Ireland is second to none and year after year is responsible for producing some of the best A-level and GCSE results in the United Kingdom.

“Selection is an inherent part of any education system, and it has to be accepted that it will exist in our schools in one shape or another. It is there not only to service the needs of the more academically gifted pupils but also to ensure that the educational needs of children of all levels of ability are catered for.

“If the decision is made to abandon selection at government level, the education system in Northern Ireland will end up becoming increasingly elitist. Grammar schools will be forced into either charging fees for places or will end up having to introduce their own selection procedures.

"In an article for the Guardian in June of this year, the (now former) Education Secretary Estelle Morris expounded the need for reform of the comprehensive system in England – as it had so far failed to deliver.

"Equality of opportunity will never be achieved by giving all children the same education. It is achieved by tailoring education to the needs of the individual. The old tripartite system could never have done that. Comprehensives could but so far haven't," she wrote.

The government has proposed creating collegiates, 'special', beacon, training and advanced schools to bolster the ailing 'one-size-fits-all' comprehensive.

(GMcG)