Campaigners have expressed disappointment at the "snail’s pace approach" to integrated education over the past 12 months.
Integrated AlumNI - a charitable network of past pupils and supporters of integrated education - said a strategy published this week by the Department of Education (DE) "lacks ambition".
In April 2022, the Assembly passed the Integrated Education Act with DE required to give more "support" to integrated education.
But Adam McGibbon from Integrated AlumNI said "after 12 months, the department has produced a tiny 10-page document, and an action plan with no action in it".
"This snail’s pace approach is in stark contrast to the support for the expansion of integrated education shared by world leaders on their visits to Northern Ireland in the past two weeks," he said.
"Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested that integrated education ‘should be the norm, not the exception,’ but this paper-thin strategy ensures that for many Northern Ireland parents and kids, they still won’t even have the choice of an integrated school.”
Michael Lynch, who is also from the group, has called on DE to "rescind this version and seek to create a new implementation framework and strategy that better reflects the need for urgent action".
“This document lacks ambition and seems to be an attempt to remove accountability," he said.
"It is imperative that the department takes action to create a new, more substantive strategy.
"This paper is insufficient in its current form and lacks the necessary detail to effectively promote integrated education.
"We urge the department to develop a new, more comprehensive plan that outlines clear goals and actionable steps and we would welcome the opportunity to be consulted in the redrafting."
A Department of Education spokesperson told the Irish News it was "committed to meeting its statutory duties under the Integrated Education Act".
"The Integrated Education Strategy provides a vision for all involved in the sector to create a vibrant and supported network of sustainable integrated schools, providing high-quality integrated education to children and young people," the spokesperson said.
“The department will take forward the full range of actions set out within the Strategy and Action Plan in consultation with the sector, including Integrated AlumNI, to deliver outcomes that support the implementation of the Act including defining demand for integrated education and developing appropriate measures to assess, monitor and aim to meet that demand.”
