For those that didn’t catch this on slugger.

Apologies for the delay in getting this up – it’s a debate I took part in, focusing on local Councils and councillors and how they interact, or not, with rate payers and the general public, as well as a discussion on education and the SDLP and UUP call to have the Executive deal with it.

It’s well worth a watch.

West Belfast SDLP held the second of a series of public meetings around major community issues, following the highly successful conference on terror threats and national security. The second meeting was on academic selection and the transfer mess that parents, teachers and children are currently faced with.

We will be holding other events around this issue, it was clear from the mood in the room on Tuesday night (30 June 2009) that parents, teachers and most worryingly, children are in deep stress and concerned about this situation.

It is important that this issue does not to go off the political radar, particularly over the summer months. In fact, while this issue represents a crushing failure in our politics and our system, if politicians take the summer recess off from the Assembly – that would clearly represent a slap in the face to all those parents.

The SDLP has already called for the Assembly to be reconvened over the summer, to tackle this issue and many more.  

We want to provide a platform for parents and teachers to air their views and ideas around finding a solution to the current untenable situation.  Many concerns as well as ideas where expressed on Tuesday, and we will be submitting these to the Minister, the Assembly Education Committee and all party leaders in a report drawn up from the meeting.

It is quite clear that Sinn Fein and the DUP have to shoulder a massive burden of blame for this mess. But both the State and those Catholic grammar schools that by their stubbornness have contributed to this situation must also equally shoulder a share of the responsibility. 

School children deserve better than this, better than the unregulated, unfair and unstable system. The SDLP will be keeping pressure on all the parties involved in this mess.

Sinn Fein failed to turn up which was noticed by those in attendance.

While claims where made (after the event) that this debate was an exercise in trying to make SF look bad on this issue, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. But in anycase, their failure to turn up clearly highlights a nervousness in SF around this issue, argubly demonstrated by their own exercise in distorting the Departmental consultation around the Ministers guidelines as well.

TRANSFER TEST: A WAY OUT

OF THE MESS?

You are invited to a public meeting to discuss the current chaos in our. education system

Balmoral Hotel, Dunmurry

Tuesday 30 June

630pm

Panellists:

Alex Attwood SDLP

Paul Butler SF

Olwin Frost Principal Oakwood IPS

Sinead Beare Principal Christ The Redeemer PS

Tony Gallagher QUB