Minister in change of mind shock!

THEY say it would never happen – a Northern Ireland Executive Minister changing their mind; and even more remarkably the Education Minister Catriona Ruane changing her mind.

Minister Ruane, renowned for her determination to stick by her guns in almost every decision she has made since time immemorial, has changed her mind on the issue of funding Preparatory Schools.

Ms Ruane had proposed that state funding of Preparatory Schools would end come September. Now, instead, funding is not ending, but is being cut by a third.

Did she change her mind because of the pressure of parents? Did she change her mind after doing the sums?

Either way both the Preparatory Schools and the minister can claim a partial victory…could this be an outbreak of compromise and reality in Northern Ireland?

Is that the sound of hell freezing over?

At least there is still a good-old fashioned row over the never ending story of the establishment, or lack thereof, of the Education Skills Authority.

Epic avoidance?

NO-ONE has ever accused Education Minister Caitriona Ruane of failing to miss an opportunity to outline her case. This week, she took it all to the next level.

In an answer to a written Assembly question from DUP MLA Lord Browne on the potential cost to the Department of Education of ending funding for prep schools, Ms Ruane said that it was an equality issue, not an economic issue…in the 16th paragraph of her answer!

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right…

MONDAY’S weekly Assembly slanging match was all about the Education Minister ending the funding of preparatory schools this coming September.

The decision was greeted by howls of fury from any given unionist, plus mild grumping from the SDLP and Alliance.

Caitriona Ruane is once again proving herself to be a dab hand at annoying as many middle class people as she can.

But, one can’t but help wonder why the Unionist fury was so delayed. None of the political parties responded to the Department of Education’s public consultation on the issue. Jim Shannon did so, but as an individual MLA, not a party representative.

Seems they missed that consultation in the same way that Caitriona Ruane missed out on consulting the Children’s Commissioner, children, young people, pupils at preps, in fact pretty much a fair swathe of people who might genuinely have something to say on her proposed decision.

In the debate, Minister Ruane was accused of launching an ideological Jihad, which her Rottweiler-in-chief John O’Dowd was quick to dismiss with more verbal brickbats returned across the chamber.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s happening on the education front: academic selection is ending, but it’s not ending; some Roman Catholic schools are amalgamating, but some aren’t; some children know which primary school they will be going to in September and some don’t …

Education in Northern Ireland…where the children are stuck in the middle!

Education débacle rolls on

MINISTER for Education, Caitriona Ruane is rocking and rolling her way through several months’ worth of effort to really, really, really annoy a lot of people.

The 11+/post-primary transfer/Transfer 2010/unregulated transfer debate was enough to polarise opinion.

Then came the proposed ending of funding for preparatory schools…

And now she has told teachers not to privately tutor pupils for the unregulated tests.

Does she not realise that this is a significant factor in maintaining Northern Ireland’s economic resilience in these financially dodgy times? All those teachers coining in the cash (no cheques or credit card payments please) are investing in savings schemes, hitting the retail parks and generally having a whale of a time with their fees from private tuition.

One could even view it as the ultimate re-distribution of wealth from the monied classes to the less well off. The upper middle classes pay middle class teachers money. The teachers spend that money in retail environments, meaning that the lowest paid jobs are maintained in shops and supermarkets.

As a socialist, Minister Ruane should be supporting this covert class warfare agenda that bleeds the rich and pours the transfusion to the working classes.

Or will the economy be boosted when HMRC investigates every teacher receiving undeclared earnings from being a tutor?

Prepping for the end

Preparatory schools will now only
be allowed to exist in Narnia

EDUCATION Minister Caitriona Ruane’s decision to end any funding of preparatory schools has received much coverage.


With the Equality Impact Assessment consultation about to end, DENI officials will be poring over letters, representations and maybe even some reasoned arguments from both sides.


Whether right or wrong, Caitriona seems now to be aiming to be the first minister in history to either end an unequal system, or drive the most wealthy of parents to create a real two-tier system of education.


Only the really, really wealthy will send their offspring to prep schools, cutting off the middle classes from their aspirations for their little darlings. The primary schools will then be overwhelmed with Tarquins and Trixibelles, leading to more and more barristers on the average PTA committee, leading to more and more headaches for the Minister when each of the PTA committees and boards of governors try and find a way to get more cash, perhaps even with a Judicial Review or six thrown in.


Congratulations to Minister Ruane for making sure that the administration of education is never boring!

We don’t need no education…

LET’S all just pack it in when it comes to education. There’s no point anymore.

The folks who hang out at Parliament Buildings can barely agree what day of the week it is, let alone sort out our education system.

The latest debacle sees claims that there will be meltdown as the legislation to create the body that will replace the education and library boards will not be passed in time. This means there will be no legislatively recognised organisation to do the mundane stuff…you know like hiring teachers, organising repairs to schools damaged by vandalism.

Of course, this, like the chaos over the post-primary transfer, is nobody’s fault. Sinn Féin say it is the DUP’s fault. The DUP say it is Sinn Féin’s fault. The UUP, SDLP and Alliance parties aren’t really sure whose fault it is, but it sure as hell wasn’t their fault!

Imagine you are a child or young person, who has teachers helping them through lessons supporting them and when needed disciplining them. On the commute to school or listening to the news with parents that child would be well justified in asking when teacher is going to instill a little discipline amongst our MLAs.

And those steps leading up to the big house….well you could fit all 108 of them on to the naughty steps. Schoolchildren can harangue the elected representatives until they agree to at least agree on one thing, just one thing before being allowed back into the playroom, sorry chamber.