SDLP Education spokesperson Seán Rogers MLA has called for a radical programme of education reform that will reshape the curriculum, re-engineer the economy and resolve the conflict around post primary transfer.
Speaking at the SDLP annual conference at the weekend held in Armagh, Mr Rogers said: “Education in Northern Ireland is suffering from a very severe policy and political paralysis. As a former teacher and principal, I know how good our teachers, our support staff and our pupils are. In my experience, we are second to none. But the unrelenting and systemic failure of those who have led our education system politically for the last seventeen years is critically undermining our ability to deliver for pupils, parents, communities and our economy.
“The system is underfunded, arduous for staff to work in and absolutely bereft of strategic direction. Those failings lie at the door of the party that has held control of the Department since devolution in 1998 and its time they faced up to it. The SDLP is now calling for a radical reform agenda at the heart of education in Northern Ireland. An agenda that will deliver better outcomes for our children, better quality of life in communities across the North and a revitalised economy, fit for the 21st century.
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Séan Rogers MLA proposes radical changes to the education system.[/caption]
“Key to the new beginning to education that we’re proposing is a fundamental reshaping of the curriculum. It’s out-of-date and no longer prepares children for the realities of the modern workforce. The first step is to involve business in curriculum development – listen to our employers, identify the skills gaps that mean that over 50% believe they will have difficulty recruiting skilled workers from Northern Ireland. Reverse that trend. We should be ambitious for our children and aim to move to a model of dual learning that offers young people integrated work with classroom based learning.
“We also need to heal the gaping wounds in the middle of our education system. Post-Primary Transfer is a mess and it’s a mess that was created exclusively by politicians who made decisions without political consensus and even now refuse to seek compromise.
“If it was two children, you’d sit them down to sort out their differences. But the poisonous political atmosphere surrounding transfer has devastated the learning landscape. The SDLP fundamentally opposes academic selection. We believe it is educationally unsound and socially unjust. But we have the political will to end the ideological war outside the classroom that has damaged those inside. The Sinn Féin strategy has deregulated and privatised selection. That is unacceptable to us and we will seek to bring it to an end.
“Education across the North faces challenges. From creating a system of shared education to resolving post primary transfer and, most importantly, making it fit for a 21st century economy. The SDLP is prepared to embark on a radical programme of reform to deliver better outcomes. We’re the radical alternative to the current administration and I believe people will see that,” added Mr Rogers.
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