A former principal of the Mercy Senior School, and a member of the International Confederation of Principals, says it's time to end single sex schools in Ireland.
On Déise Today with Maria McCann, Maria Doyle echoed calls to end “outdated” single-sex school admission policies within a 10- to 15-year period.
Ireland has a relatively high proportion of single-sex schools by international standards, which is regarded as a legacy of the church's control over the education system.
About 17 per cent of all primary schools in the State are single sex, while about a third of secondary schools are either all boys or all girls.
As The Irish Times reports, The Labour Party will publish a Private Member’s Bill which seeks to end gender discrimination in school admission.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin the party’s education spokesman, said single-sex education was an “anomaly” for a new generation of parents.
"Time to move on"
Public funding
The Bill proposes giving primary schools a 10-year period to end single sex admissions and secondary schools a 15-year period.
After this period has elapsed, the Labour party proposes the State should cease providing public funding to schools which continue to discriminate on the basis of gender.
When asked for its views on the issue, the Department of Education said questions such as whether schools are single sex or co-educational rested with school patron bodies, subject to the agreement of the department.
It said new schools are generally co-educational in nature and provide greater flexibility than single-sex schools in meeting demographic requirements in an area.
