Irish Examiner View: Educate Together schools symbolic of a changing Ireland

Midleton Educate Together National School opened in September 2017.

Educate Together schools have, in a relatively short time, become one of the symbols of a new ever-changing Ireland. 

As this society becomes ever-more diverse, and as the number of second-level students is expected to rise annually for some years to come, the role of those schools will become more and more significant.

Despite that momentum, an ESRI report has found that many Educate Together schools struggle with the challenges posed when they find themselves in temporary accommodation. 

In a perfect world new, fully-fitted schools would be available as required but that is not, and can hardly be the case. 

Nevertheless, some Educate Together schools have had multiple temporary addresses which hints at a less than enthusiastic commitment to the idea.

In a country so long riven by difference, and at a moment when a Paris teacher is decapitated for encouraging diversity, this hardly sows the seeds for a successfully integrated society.