Written evidence from Niall McCafferty
I would like to protest in the strongest possible
terms at your committee's handling of the attempt by the grammar
schools to undermine the decision already taken by government
to end academic selection here. The public were excluded from
participating in your furtive talks by being kept in total ignorance
of them until after they had ended. This is intolerable.
I would like to protest specifically at the
exclusion of "Education Reform 21" from the consultation.
A glance at the list of articles and authors on our website (www.reform21.org)
shows we have made a very substantial spontaneous contribution
to the seven-year debate. Further, "Education Reform 21"
has also been invited to contribute, and has invariably done so,
to every consultation by government, DE, and review committee
throughout the seven years up to your committee's secretive session.
A recent report by Save the Children (November
2005) shows that in my local city, Derry, one third of children
live on or below the breadline after 57 years of our elitist selective
education system. After seven years consultation with all concerned,
both the devolved and direct rule governments decided in succession
to end academic selection and its attendant injustice against
the poor.
The grammar school lobby is now seeking to reverse
this decision by presenting your committee with the results of
a Household survey by the DE, carefully selected examination results,
and a model for "academic selection" by Dr Hugh Morrison,
QUB.
Re the Household Survey, the limitations of
its research design ensured from the beginning that whatever its
outcome it would not be worth the paper it was written on. Further,
the actual statistics produced by the grammar lobby to your committee
are a complete misrepresentation of those in the DE Report.
Re the examination results, they are the usual
careful selection to mislead the uninitiated into thinking that
Northern Ireland does best. For example, they present the five+
Grades A*-C results where Northern Ireland, being an elitist system,
does better than England; they omit the five+ Grades A*-G results
on which England does better. And, of course, they omit the Scottish
comprehensive education results which are better than Northern
Ireland at every level.
The truth about educational achievement here
after 57 years of selective education is presented in the "Urban
Regeneration Baseline Study of Derry City Council Area",
by Indecon International Economic Consultants in association with
London Economics (February 2005). It states that there is a "worryingly
low level" of educational attainment, particularly at the
earlier stages of education, including GCSE, A-level, and first
degrees. The report also says that the high percentage with no
qualifications at all must be addressed as a priority. This is
the inevitable outcome of our elitist selective system.
On reading Dr Morrison's model for "academic
selection", the claim that it is valid, reliable, and culture-free
is quickly seen to be untenable. Besides, the report claims erroneously
that a recent research study by the LSE shows that selective education
systems are more conducive to upward social mobility than comprehensive
systems. The leader of the LSE research team recently wrote to
the "Belfast Telegraph" pointing out that this claim
is a misrepresentation of their research results which have no
relationship whatever with education systems.
If the decision to reject academic selection
is to be reviewed now at the behest of the grammar schools, then
the subjective decisions by the DE, Burns, and Costello in succession
not to carry out a research study into comprehensive education
as a possible replacement for the present selective system will
have to be reversed also, and a scientific study undertaken by
suitably qualified people and the findings presented to government
and public.
8 December 2005
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