Education

YET more bad news for students (or more probably, their parents), with the House of Lords backing ‘top-up’ fees for students in Northern Ireland. Lord Glentoran said: “Northern Ireland should have its own right and time to make its own decisions on top-up fees.”Conservative spokesman Lord Glentoran continued: “It is proven when a government with a majority of 200 in the Commons could only get its legislation with a majority of five, supported by Scottish MPs to whom it didn’t …

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ISN’T it ironic that our unaccountable Education Minister used St Patrick’s Day to call for more funding for transport in London, at a time when he was forcing transport cuts upon children travelling to school in Northern Ireland? It’s been an important day for our remote control ministers as Direct Misrule bites into the education budget in a big way. Massive funding cuts have forced local boards to drop ‘less essential’ services – school transport, building maintenance, music lessons, classroom …

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Now’s the chance to exact revenge for any perceived deficiciencies in your primary and secondary education by anonymously rating those you probably hold most responsible – the teachers. I don’t know where to start myself. George

study reveals that of masters students graduating from northern ireland’s universities last year, almost 91% of those employed six months later were working in the province Philip Weir

Henry McDonald offers his thoughts on events in the Holyland and some solutions Culchie clashingDuring the week a number of short-term solutions to the Holy Lands crisis were proffered, such as the expulsion or suspension of the rowdiest and most violent from university. Others have suggested that the PSNI take a more heavy-handed approach to the nightly scenes of drunkenness, lewd behaviour and disorder. They point out, quite correctly, that if these people were working-class youths they would battered off …

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Malachi O’Doherty takes aim at Prince Charles’s recent comments on education, noting the very particular circumstances of education in Northern Ireland, “Our grammar schools are top of the British league tables while a quarter of the population is functionally illiterate. The next rung below us on the literacy ladder is Poland”. Meanwhile David Vance defended Charles. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and …

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The Irish News today carries a story on page 9 Victorian entrance exam highlights ‘dumbing down’.An exam paper set for 11-year-olds in Victorian Britain was too difficult for most of today’s A-Level students, campaigners said. The Spectator magazine published school entrance exams from the 19th century, sparking renewed claims that education standards had been dumbed down. The school’s headmaster acknowledged that the tests set at King Edward’s School in Birmingham in 1898 would tax most people today. The questions covered …

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Martin McGuinness will doubtless be pleased to see that his time as Minister for Education did no obvious harm to Northern Ireland’s education system. The Sunday Times reports that Ulster grammar schools are top of UK class according to their Parent Power guide. Lumen Christi College in Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s top secondary school. However the excellent status of our schools (“when compared to population, Northern Ireland grammar schools perform better than their equivalents in England and Wales”) may cause …

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WIMPS (Where is my public servant?) is a new website designed for and by young people in Northern Ireland to encourage political participation. Slugger links to it first here. Possibly one way of dealing with the political apathy of many youngsters in Northern Ireland?While parts of the site appear to be still under construction, the FAQ section explains: What is wimps Wimps (Where is my Public Servant) is a website set up and developed by a core group of 10 …

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FORMER Secretary of State Mo Mowlam has accused political parties and churches of having “vested interests” in holding back integrated education in Northern Ireland.Mowlam told PA: “Although the churches and political parties paid lip service to integrated education they are not that keen to move further down the road because without integrated education they have a ready made church population in church schools and the parties have ready made party supporters in the schools too. “I think it is really …

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A FEW days ago I asked Suzanne Breen how she was coping with the new influx of students in South Belfast. She gives her answer today in the News Letter – and it’s not a glowing report by any means. Update: Alex Maskey wants something done before the problem spreads. A South Belfast building moratorium?But what I also want to know is, how come if students are so poor and have to pay tuition fees and so on, why is …

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Mick Hall judges that the problem of educational underachievement amongst some areas of Loyalist working class areas in Belfast would be best addressed by vigorously promoting integrated education. Though I doubt the influence of the Church of Ireland is as strong in NI as it is in the Republic. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events …

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Diane Dodds, new DUP MLA for West Belfast, has called for direct rule minister Barry Gardiner to address the low performance of Shankill’s schools, highlighted in a recent report from the Shankill Partnership.”The survey found 62.04% of adults aged between 16 and 74 had no qualifications, compared with the Belfast average of 39.60% and a Northern Ireland average of 41.64%. “It found the number of 18-19 year olds leaving school in the Greater Shankill with no qualifications was 19.67% compared …

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IT’S a common reaction from Americans when they learn that 95 percent of pupils in Northern Ireland attend, to all intents and purposes, single-identity schools – sheer disbelief at the lack of integration. US Envoy Mitchell Reiss’s strong support for integrated education echoes his predecessor Richard Haass’s decision to put his own hand in his pocket to help out (last page) with a major donation. Barbara Stephenson, the recently-departed American Consul General, also made her support vocal for integrated education. …

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It looks like the campaign to save the University pool at Jordanstown is making progress. As I type the case is being heard in the High Court in Belfast. Yesterday there was even an early motion in the House of Commons by Kate Hoey and so far supported by seventeen signatories, from UUP, DUP and the SDLP. SF MPs don’t participate in the Westminster parliament.From Sam Bride The fight to keep the Swimming pool at the University of Ulster was …

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