Sinn Féin in Fermanagh, who are hosting a public meeting on proposed changes in education in the Clinton Centre, Enniskillen on Thursday, 3rd July (7pm), have come out in support of the Minister, Cáitriona Ruane in a local Press briefing to promote the event.
Fermanagh Sinn Féin Councillor, Thomas O'Reilly, who met the media, was reacting to a delay in her implementing change:
"I believe," he said, "Cáitriona is doing a magnificent job. There are 60 years of change to be implemented. It is something that has been functioning for a very long time, and the Minster has consistently said she wants to take as many people on board as possible. You don't do that overnight."
Councillor O'Reilly is a member of the Western Education and Library Board and is vice-Chairman of the joint Services Committee of the Western and Southern Boards.
He pointed to a lot of discussion and a lot of inaccuracies and, in order to counteract these, his Party's Education spokesman, John O'Dowd would be the guest speaker at next week's public meeting.
"It is to set out accurately the facts," Mr O'Reilly added, "and to give people the opportunity to ask questions. It is recognised there are a lot of people unsure and concerned about the future of their children in school. This is their opportunity to have their questions answered".
He suggested Fermanagh had taken the lead in going out to the people, referring to the pre-consultation document on existing school sites, prepared by the Western Board in which the schools were involved through a working group.
"The overwhelming information coming back from that consultation was that the status quo should remain, so those views have to be taken into consideration. In fact, the Board has issued a decision to that effect and the working group are now going to focus on the primary sector in Fermanagh.
"There is certainly a recognition," he went on, "that the access capacity within the school system has to be addressed, and the whole question of these 50,000 spare seats, which the status quo can't address".
Mr O'Reilly revealed that the Board had identified six schools in its area with less than 20 pupils, some of which are in Fermanagh.
He submitted that those six were in an uneconomic state to deliver education, although that was no reflection of the standard of teaching therein.
"Unless there is a major turnaround in these schools," he said, "we may find it hard to sustain them."
Turning to hands-on education, he said children were leaving school unable to read or write, hence his Party were seeking a system in which everybody can get the best out of education.
"We're looking at the end of the 11-plus. You won't find any exponents for it. We now have a three-year transitional period where schools can move away from that sort of system and into one where a pupil can move to their nearest post-primary school at age 11 and take on certain subjects and then at 14 you have a more academic test."
Mr O'Reilly said the whole idea was to see exactly what schools were able to deliver the highest standard of education.
"It is fair to say that the three-year transitional period represents a move away from academic selection. It isn't intended to change the system overnight, rather that there's a planned approach whereby schools can take in so many by academic selection and moving on to a point where by 2010 you have moved to a non-academic basis."
He suggested that schools going it alone by setting their own entrance exams could be challenged and end up facing massive legal costs.
And, as for the delay in implementing her proposals, Mr O'Reilly partly blamed it on 'a very vocal lobby' who, he claimed, were trying to undermine the ending of academic selection.
"It isn't causing the delay, but it's adding to it. We need to counter that and give people the opportunity to hear the facts at a local level. That's what people want to see, people coming to their area with the facts, and John O'Dowd is very pleased to do that."
