There are no excuses for segregated education
Welcoming the findings of recent research which indicates that 79 per cent of people in Northern Ireland favour integrated education, Workers Party South Belfast representative Paddy Lynn says the time is right for an Independent Commission to map out an integrated education stategy.
‘This research also shows that the major Executive parties prefer the concept of occasional ‘sharing’ between schools where the majority of students will remain of ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’ background. Real integration means bringing all of our children together throughout their school lives’, said Mr. Lynn
‘The main parties here are failing to give the people of Northern Ireland what they overwhelmingly want. At the moment fewer than seven per cent of our children are educated in the integrated sector’
Clearly this is an area which the main parties at Stormont do not wish to address.An Independent Commission should now be tasked with the responsibility of mapping out an Integrated Education Strategy.’, Mr. Lynn concluded
Workers Party Northern Ireland 
Integrated education is the only sensible way foward towards a truly secular and pluralist society. However we need to redefine our definition of what it means to be integrated. At present our children are segregated on both religious and class grounds. All children under the present system do not have equality of opportunity. In his work ‘Equality’, RH Tawney stated that the British educational system ‘ will never be one worthy of a civilised society until the children of all classes(and creeds) in the nation attend the same schools…the idea that differences of educational opportunities among children should depend upon differences of wealth represents a barbarity’. Lets not lose sight of the goal.