EDUCATION minister John O'Dowd has admitted he is powerless to stop grammar schools using entrance exams. Addressing the conference of the Catholic Principals' Association
in Cookstown, the minister urged schools to show leadership and end academic selection.
Mr O'Dowd said that although there had been repeated calls for selection to be phased out, there was nothing he could do. "Calling on me to bring it to an end simply will not work, not because I am not listening but because I do not have the power," he said. "We need to create the political conditions to bring it to an end. "Like-minded people - teachers, parents, trade unionists, clergy and citizens, indeed anyone interested in equality and social justice - need to come together and campaign for an end to academic selection. "It cannot be a one off event but a concerted campaign for change which will see all the political parties in the assembly vote for that change."
Those in favour of academic selection, Mr O'Dowd said, were organised. "Those opposed must act and act now, not in favour of my policy but in favour of their own policy. Sitting on the fence is not an option if you are serious about equality," he said.