Minister to rebuke Church over faith exclusion classes

The slowness of the Catholic Church to offer examples of how schools can avoid children of different or no faiths being excluded during religion class will be criticised by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn in a speech today to primary teachers.

Although he acknowledges the need to avoid being over-prescriptive while work continues on a Government policy white paper on making schools more inclusive, the minister will tell the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation annual congress it would be useful for suggestions to be aired on the issue.

He praises the good work of teachers in making sure parents who want their children to opt out of religious education during faith-specific classes in denominational schools have that right respected, which he says is evidence of what we are regularly told about the inclusiveness of those institutions — which make up around 95% of the country’s 3,200-plus primary schools.