‘Academic apartheid’ over special needs access

SCHOOLS that have welcomed special needs students are set to be crippled by paperwork because the Department of Education has not penalised schools which exclude them, teachers have warned.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland said that certain schools, which it claims are aided by the department’s inaction, should no longer be allowed to operate a sinister brand of academic apartheid in terms of students they admit.

Union assistant general secretary John MacGabhann said the implementation of laws to support these students must not begin until segregationist policies operated by certain schools are tackled. Education Minister Mary Hanafin set up an audit of school enrolment policies to determine the extent of such exclusion two years ago but the findings have never been published.