AQO 1230/22-27 Oral question to the Minister of Education
To ask the Minister of Education to outline his plans to reform academic selection in the education system.
Asked by Eóin Tennyson MLA on 21 November 2024
- Answered
- Oral
- Answered in the Chamber
- Tabled
- 21 November 2024
- Answer due by
- 2 December 2024
- Answered
- 2 December 202411 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Education
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Answered in the Assembly Chamber on 2 December 2024. Extract from the Official Report (Hansard), including any supplementary questions:
Mr Givan
I have no such plans. My Department is not responsible for the administration or operation of post-primary transfer tests. The Schools' Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG), a company formally established in February 2022, oversees a single common entrance assessment. Participation in the assessments is entirely a matter of parental choice. Transfer tests have never been compulsory for any school or pupil, but they provide an opportunity for pupils to gain a place at a selective post-primary school of their choosing on the basis of the school's admissions criteria.
Mr Tennyson
Minister, you have talked many times in the Chamber about your ambition to tackle educational underachievement among working-class Protestant boys. Surely you recognise that the presence of a high-stakes, non-resit, unregulated transfer test in our system exacerbates the inequalities faced by working-class young people. Today, you should commit to scrapping it.
Mr Givan
As a working-class Protestant boy who went through the transfer test — I went to Laurelhill Community College, a school that I was incredibly proud to go to — my focus is on ensuring that all schools get the right support to ensure that, whichever school pupils go to, they get the best possible education. That means making sure that the curriculum is fit for purpose, which is why I am carrying out a review. It means supporting teachers in their professional learning and development to make sure that they are empowered to deliver education for all young people. That is my focus. If the Member can come forward with a solution to the issue that will garner consensus not just in here but across society, I will be more than happy to engage with him on it.