Northern Ireland and Education

Following on from my thoughts on University provision within Northern Ireland I will share my thoughts on education.

Peter Robinson's recent comments regarding integrated education the debate seems to be moving to the fore. With Catriona Ruane's inept performance as Education Minister likely to play the pivotal role in the UUP and SDLP campaigns for the Northern Irish Assembly next year we will be sure to see many comments and opinions on the topic.

We as a nation are separated along religious lines almost from birth. We are neatly divided into communities and rarely see "the other", the fear of the unknown grows and we do not develop a respect for other traditions. The first time some Protestants will interact with Catholics is in the workplace. How can this be justified in a modern society?

The Northern Irish education sector must come together and work together to end segregation. Some politicians see this as an attack on the Catholic sector of education with the promotion of the Integrated sector. It need not be this way at all. I see no evidence to suggest that the current integrated sector is the way forward.

I am loathe to request further legislation but why not give post primary schools a 7 year window to reform. A school will only receive government funding if it has at least 1/3 of one community or the other. This will mean that single religion schools will end. Each school will be forced to make itself more attractive to the other community to get the necessary 1/3 that it needs. Further more a move towards secular schooling in general can only be a good thing in this future education. Religious studies should be the responsibility of parents in the home rather than teachers in the school.

As in England, parents should be given more freedom of choice when it comes to education. Money should follow children with parents having a say over who spends it. Less regulation will allow more schools to enter the education market with parents having the power to make or break these schools with their support. If the parent wants their child to go to specialist music school and the local school doesn’t provide enough music education the parent could, if they wanted and with support of other parents, start a music school. If enough parents thought the same and left a school it would force a school to question why so many parents are removing their children and provide the resource that they are deemed to be deficient in.

This set amount per pupil that will be allocated to schools will be a resource that schools battle over to secure. Standards will rise as schools try to convince parents that their school is best for their children. As will the general standard of education rise so too will the specialisation of schools too. A parent will at some point be able to send their child to specialist maths, English or science schools depending on the ability of the child. The possibilities are endless.

Most will be appalled by the idea of commercial schools but again if companies ran schools they would be efficient and could pool resources over larger areas. They could potentially provide facilities cheaper and long term options of employment for pupils through work focussed courses.

Freedom of choice is much better than the current sectarian deadlock that we have

Northern Ireland and University Fees

The student brigade are out protesting about rises in tuition fees for university. As per usual I suspect they have not looked at the fine print and what it means for them. If the Assembly matches the English proposals they will have nothing to pay back until much later and may never have to pay anything back if they do not hit this higher trigger point.

Also by getting a degree, in theory, the students increase their employability over the span of their working life and will earn significantly more than the humble taxpayers who did not go to university but did subsidise their 4:00am drunken jaunts through the Holylands.

The current students, taking time out of their hectic schedule, to protest at these new measures will in all likelihood not have to pay any of these higher fees. Unfortunately I have not heard from the people it will affect, those currently in 5th and 6th form.

If these new fees do affect the uptake of third level education is it really a bad thing? Walk into any generic call centre or generic office in Belfast and you will find that as many as half of the work force have a degree. Is this what they went to university for? To discuss Marx and Engels around the water cooler?

Perhaps it will shake the current universities and schools in Northern Ireland to focus on what is best both for students and Northern Ireland itself. Does Northern Ireland need so many people studying English, History, Politics, Sociology, Social Policy or Media Studies at university? With such a high supply of cheap places on such courses there would always be enough demand to fill these spaces. By offering these places so easily with such low entrance grades we do our students a disservice. These courses are not filled with the greatest minds of their generation but by those who did enough to get in. University should be about ability not about some misguided right to a third level education. Three years of university should be the springboard to greatness rather than the humdrum of, "Could I take your order sir?".

What jobs do Northern Ireland need? What adds income and ability to our workforce? The ability to discuss at length how Napoleon failed at Waterloo or engineering, medical and accounting skills? Restrict the meaningless degrees and grow those of worth. We need our elected representatives, the universities, employers and the student body themselves to get together and have this debate. We need it now!

The less well off will not be able to afford university with higher fees. Rubbish! If they have the ability they will be able to go to university whether through sponsorship by companies who spot their ability or indeed scholarships from the various universities who spot their ability. By restricting the supply those from a less well off background will also focus their minds earlier knowing that they need top grades to get to university and will weigh out the future employment benefits of their degree choices before applying for a generic course if they had no real prospects at the end of it but would have a large debt to repay.

The greatest hypocrisy though is the great mass of the middle class who seem to be leading this revolt through their own selfish agenda rather than the worry for the working class that they proclaim to be fighting for. The worry that these increased fees may impinge upon their taking of two or three holidays a year and reduce it down to only one holiday a year. University has always been a difficult endeavour to finance for the working class but it shall remain the best way to become socially mobile.

University is not the only career path for students now either. There are increasing numbers of alternative entry routes into respectable careers such as accounting and law. These will actually see you practicing quicker and without the debt accrued at university.

The debate hasn't started but hopefully somebody will argue the case for higher fees.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

What motivates a blog? From what I have observed there are loonies frothing at the mouth to promote their own brand of the truth, there is the banal tweets of every minute aspect of a person's life and then there those wishing to transmit a message.

I hope to be interesting and honest. I want to debate issues starting from my perspective and hopefully persuade more to think like me or learn from others and think like them. I will post about the mundane simplicities of life and things that matter to my life on both the small and large scale of things.

Who am I? The Internet affords me a cloak of anonymity and I shall endeavour to wear it at all times. I will confirm that I am male and within the 18-30 age range. I have lived in rural areas and lived in urban areas in Northern Ireland. Most of all I love my country.

And so the journey begins...