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NI education minister 'encouraging private schooling'
03 March 2010
Northern Ireland's Minister for Education Caitriona Ruane MLA has been accused of encouraging parents to move their children into private schools.
Clare Osborne, Principal of Rockport School, Holywood, County Down, says that the ongoing debate about transfer testing combined with proposed funding cuts may lead many parents to give up on the grammar sector in favour of independent schooling.
In a letter to the Belfast Telegraph, she said: "The deregulation of the transfer process has resulted in fewer children applying for grammar school places.
"The move by the Minister to remove funding from preparatory schools attached to grammar schools may encourage a private sector in education."
She added that it would be "ironic" if Ms Ruane's efforts to provide increased educational access to children from all socio-economic backgrounds to high-quality education resulted in the further growth of the region's fee-paying sector.
Rockport School offers pre-school, pre-prep, preparatory and senior school education services.