By Ronan McSherry
WHILST a growing number of grammar schools across Tyrone have indicated they will be setting entrance exams for pupils transferring from primary education in 2010, the board of governors of Omagh Christian Brothers School will meet next week to consider its options following the latest statement from Education Minister Caitríona Ruane.
The planned tests will fly in the face of proposals from the Sinn Féin Minister to abolish academic selection, thereby introducing a non-selective system of access to secondary schools. It is understood that a number of local head-masters are to devise their own transfer test, most probably based upon the CCEA 11-plus exam.
On Monday, Minister Ruane issued guidelines on the transfer of pupils from primary schools from 2010. Last week, she failed to get the Executive to approve a phasing out of academic selection. Her new guidelines tell schools they should not use academic selection and list criteria which oversubscribed schools should use to choose pupils. The recommended criteria includes taking account of siblings, the eldest child, feeder primary school, parish and catchment area.
However, it is understood the guidelines are advisory rather than legally enforceable.
Paul Brannigan, Principal of Omagh CBS, told the UH, "The school board of governors will be meeting next Tuesday to consider all options given that the Minister has completely changed things again in her latest statement. What she said was different from her previous proposals. It seems now that she holds out no hope for coming to an agreed solution and legislation."
However, Mr Brannigan is reluctant to join the many voices that have been highly critical of Caitríona Ruane regarding her handling of the abolition of the transfer test. He believes the frustration is due to a collective failure by politicians.
"My view is that none of the politicians are listening to what the people are saying. There is a great disappointment, not just in the minister, but in everybody who is involved in the decision-making process because there is a need for them all to sit down and work it out together. It is easy to personalise the whole thing but, with the structure of government, nothing happens unless everyone agrees."
Meanwhile, West Tyrone Sinn Fein MP MLA Pat Doherty has moved to support his under-fire party colleague. He stated that the primary-post primary transfer guidelines set out by the Minister Ruane are "a crucial element in securing the delivery of a modern education system where all children can realise their full potential."
Mr Doherty said, "What Caitríona Ruane has announced is much more than an end to the 11-plus and post primary transfer-it is part of a wider transformation of the education system fit for the modern era."
