Union favours non-specific religious education

THE Irish National Teachers Organisation has said it favours a broad-based education system which would allow children of all denominations a religious education in Irish schools.

Earlier this year Education Minister Mary Hanafin gave the go-ahead for a multi-denominational primary school in Dublin run by the Vocational Education Committee.

Yesterday at the INTO conference, the union’s general secretary, John Carr said: “We must face the reality that within the primary education system, many of our schools give little or no formal knowledge or understanding of our relationships with some Christian or non-Christian religions. We cannot as a State continue indefinitely to build different types of schools to accommodate diversity in every part of Ireland. We have to find a new way of addressing the needs of all children within our education system.”

He said INTO was in favour of a system where all children would be given a non-specific religious education. “Then the various churches could either come into the school or Sunday school and impart their own blend of instruction. That to me would solve a lot of problems in relation to the teaching of religions on a multi-denominational basis.

“All children should have access to a religious education programme in the same way as they have access to music, art science,” he said adding that it could be taught either outside school hours or provision could be made for it to be held in school hours.

He said INTO would be meeting with the Depart-ment of Education on April 19 to discuss the Diswellstown project and would continue to meet with it on the subject of multi-denominational schools up to the school’s opening in September 2008.

At yesterday’s INTO conference delegates voted to seek legal advice on what implications the VEC’s patronage of the school could pose for them.

Mr Carr said: “Primary teachers have, over the years, secured favourable conditions of employment from management authorities.

“Will those conditions apply in a new school situation? These issues will require further consultation including any legal implications arising from any new model of school governance.”