McCrea issues warning regarding 'trojan horse' education authority
A new all-encompassing education authority is being used as a trojan horse to exert more government control over schools, an Assembly member warned today.
Basil McCrea said he feared schools would lose autonomy under the Education and Skills Authority (ESA), which will replace the North’s five education and library boards next year as part of the streamlining of public administration.
Voluntary grammar schools have already expressed concerns that they are being forced to hand over their status as staff ’employer’ to the ESA.
During a briefing by government officials to Stormont’s education committee, the Ulster Unionist MLA claimed the body was being established to give education minister Caitriona Ruane more powers.
He said the role of the board of governors would be undermined by the ESA.
“We are implacably opposed to a trojan horse,” he said.
“This is not about education, this is about more ministerial control over schools.”
Ms Ruane has said £20m (€22.5m) a year will be saved by creating one centralised body in place of the current ’disjointed’ system.
As well as replacing the education and library boards the ESA will assume the functions of four other bodies, including the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).
But the Department of Education has denied the creation of the ESA will bring any fundamental changes to the way schools operate on a day-to-day basis.
John O’Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann) challenged Mr McCrea’s claims and said he was letting his judgement be clouded by his political opposition to the minister.
“It is disappointing that he hasn’t taken the opportunity to look at the review of public administration in the broader sense and put aside his political views and moved on,” he said.
Work on establishing the authority comes amid the ongoing uncertainty over the future of post primary transfer in the North following the axing of the 11-plus last year.
Ms Ruane’s officials were briefing committee members on the details of the Education Bill which will provide the legal framework for the creation of the ESA in January 2010.
The authority will administer an annual budget of £2bn (€2.25bn) and be responsible for 50,000 staff. Around 460 administrative jobs are set to go through voluntary redundancies as a result of the rationalisation.
During the meeting in Parliament Buildings, some members questioned why MLAs were being prevented from taking up positions on the ESA’s 8-12 person governing board.
Chris Stewart, the department’s head of the RPA, said while local councillors could take up posts on the board the minister had thought it inappropriate for MLAs to do so as the ESA was accountable to the Assembly.
“There is a potential conflict of interest there if MLAs could end up being accountable to themselves or each other,” he explained.
