Education to 1972
A committee appointed by the ministry inquired into the existing organization and administration of services in Northern Ireland. Their report influenced the Education Act (NI) of 1923, which made each county and county borough the responsible education authority for its area. The council acted as the education committee.
Parents were obligated to ensure children between 6 and 14 years received elementary education, including literary and moral education based on instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Each committee prepared schemes for the provision of elementary and secondary education. They were empowered to accept the transfer of existing schools and voluntary managers.
Religious education was forbidden in elementary schools during compulsory attendance hours. Local authorities were not permitted to provide instruction in schools under their control.
However, they could offer opportunities outside school hours for children to be taught by persons approved by parents. The legislation also mandated that the education authority could not consider fictitious religious denominations when making appointments.
At that time, the Government of Ireland Act prohibited the endowment of religion and the creation of advantage or disadvantage based on religion, mandating this interpretation. However, all major churches opposed the act.
The above provisions were repealed in 1925. The department continued to hold the view that education authorities could not provide or pay for religious instruction. They permitted the adoption of programs with simple Bible instructions which teachers could be required to give as part of the ordinary school course.
The 1925 Act facilitated the transfer of Protestant schools, but education committees were not willing to accept the conditions of transfer in all cases. The churches were subjected to the conditions in the growing number of schools provided by authorities that lacked religious instruction.
The Education NI Act, 1930, mandated that the education authority must provide Bible instruction if parents of at least 10 children in regular attendance made an application to the authority for such a purpose. Teachers might be obliged to give this instruction, but they could not, as a conditional appointment, be required to teach religious catechism or religious denominations.
The act empowered denominational representatives or transferors transferring schools, up to a quarter of the members of the education committee, who were also represented on the management committees of former schools.
The Catholic Church remained unwilling to transfer schools. The government provided 50 percent grants for building and equipping voluntary schools.
Many Protestant schools were transferred to the education authorities with conditions imposed regarding religious instruction and the selection of teachers in many cases. Questions arose regarding the legality of these conditions.
The Education Act (NI) of 1947 followed the White Paper on education. Committees could not consider the ability to provide religious instructions when making appointments. Teachers were not to suffer any disadvantage or loss of promotion through not giving religious instruction.
The legislation made it compulsory for primary and secondary schools to provide non-denominational religious instruction and a collective act of worship. There was provision for education committees to appoint an additional teacher to give religious instruction if none of the other appointees were willing or able to do so.
The 1923 Act had provided for voluntary schools accepting four and two management committees, with the authority nominating one-third of the members. In return, certain expenses could be met from public funds. The 1944 White Paper had proposed this. The Education Act provided higher grants to voluntary schools.
After the Second World War, grants to voluntary schools increased to 65 percent. A proposal in the 1944 paper to extend the four and two committee rule proved unacceptable to most voluntary schools. Education authorities were obliged to provide transport, meals, and milk. Medical inspection was provided. Most Catholic schools and a substantial number of Protestant schools benefited from the two-thirds provision.
To claim capital grants, voluntary schools and grammar schools had to reserve annually at least 80 percent of their admissions for qualified pupils who had passed the 11 plus examination. This became known as Group A schools. Pupils who qualified had their tuition fees paid by the education authority but had to pay the capital fee towards the school’s share of the capital cost. Group B schools had no restrictions on admission, although in practice, most would be qualified.
The Commission for National Education had control over national schools, mostly managed by clergy of different denominations, and paid salaries and provided building grants.
Secondary education was provided by intermediate schools, many on a commercial basis with grants from the Intermediate Education Board. Technical schools, under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, were controlled by local authorities, and part of the cost was borne by the central government.
The number of school authorities was reduced to eight, conforming to the counties and county boroughs. New county grammar schools were built, and some Protestant grammar schools were transferred to the education authority.
The 1947 Act introduced secondary intermediary education for students who did not attend grammar schools. All aged intermediary schools were phased out, and new intermediate schools were built or existing primary schools were converted.
In the 1967 White Paper, local education authorities and voluntary schools proposed and maintained status for voluntary primary and intermediary school projects after the four and two committees. They were eligible for 80 percent building grants, and the educational authority would be responsible for equipment maintenance.
Existing schools could remain under voluntary management with 65 percent grants, similar to new schools replacing them. The authority of new schools would be recognized for grant purposes only if they accepted maintenance status.
For voluntary grammar schools, there was a proposal for 80 percent building grants if the governing body accepted measures of public representation, with the department nominating not more than one-third of members after consulting the governing body and education authority.
The Act, when passed, provided that maintained schools would be free to revert to voluntary status. Two years’ notice would be required, and they would have to make repayments for all additional assistance they had received. Under the schemes, school committees were responsible for submitting proposals on equipment and maintenance, appointing teaching staff, while education committees were responsible for accepting recommendations on appointing ancillary staff who acted under the direction of the school principal. A move for 80 percent grants rapidly occurred in relation to grammar schools.
The Education Act, NI, 1947, was based on a White Paper published in December 1944. It likely followed the bridged model of education but reflected the unique history and influence of religious authorities.
Universities were established at Coleraine and Ulster College following recommendations in the report on higher education in Northern Ireland published in 1965. The Ministry of Education was established in 1921, taking over the school systems from the Dublin administration.