POST-primary schools are bidding to add hundreds of extra places to help them meet ever-increasing demand.
An ambitious area plan for south and east Belfast has been published for public consultation.
If approved, five popular and oversubscribed schools would be allowed to expand from September.
Rather than boost the only school in the area that has surplus capacity, the proposal recommends removing desks there, however.
South and east Belfast has been a problem area in recent years. Almost every school is oversubscribed.
Extra desks are now being sought for three controlled grammar and two state high schools.
The plan recommends:
:: Ashfield Girls' increase its admissions number from 113 to 130, with an annual phased increase in enrolments from 660 to 790
:: Ashfield Boys' admit an extra 30 pupils per year, with a phased increase from 700 to 900
:: Bloomfield Collegiate get 10 extra Year 8 places allowing it to grow, in time, from 710 to 770
:: Breda Academy decrease admissions to 140, with a phased decrease from 1,000 to 900
:: Grosvenor Grammar grow from 1,075 to 1,225 over the next few years
:: Wellington College increase its enrolment number from 770 to 800
While concerns have been raised about the potential negative impact on Breda Academy, the EA said it viewed it as "a core post-primary provider for the Belfast area".
The proposed reduction in its numbers, it said, was "not a reflection on the future of the school".
"The Education Authority is of the view that Breda Academy was established with an approved enrolment and admission number which was too high and the potential of meeting these numbers was predicated on changes in the wider area which did not occur," it added.
"A reduction to an admission of 140 is a reflection of the current and projected level of intake and should the school, in the future, achieve admissions above this figure the authority will undertake to review the provision."
Responses to the EA have also suggested the plans are biased towards grammar schools and there is the potential for gender imbalance.
"There have been long standing issues around the level of post-primary provision in Belfast with many schools having to apply for temporary variations, or the Department of Education asking schools to take a temporary variation to allow sufficient places to be available in the area," the EA said.
"The continued use of temporary variations in reaction to continued increased demand only provide for short-term provision. In addition, the continued use of temporary variations places added pressures to the schools around the lack of additional staff or accommodation being provided as part of getting added places.
"The Education Authority believes that the proposals being brought forward will contribute to a network of sustainable post-primary provision capable of meeting the long-term needs of families in Belfast."
The objection perioid will end on May 25. Department officials will then prepare a report for the minister who will be expected to make his decision later in the summer.
