The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) today published its report, "Religion and Education: A Human Rights Perspective" in which it calls on the Government to increase diversity of school type in Ireland in order to meet its human rights obligations.
The IHRC report contains 13 recommendations to Government and is the culmination of a consultation process launched in November 2010 on the nature of education provision in Ireland and whether it meets human rights standards. The IHRC received 60 submissions which addressed the complex difficulties which have arisen in the Irish context. Key among those issues is how the right to freedom of religion, belief and conscience of parents of children can be met for both those parents and children of the majority Roman Catholic religion, of minority religions and indeed those of no faith.
Key Recommendations
- Diversify school provision to accommodate diversity of religious and non-religious convictions in the State;
- Learn from approaches taken in the pilot VEC community national schools, the Gaelscoileanna, and Educate Together schools;
- Schools should avoid any inadvertent indoctrination or proselytism of minority faith or non faith children;
- Expanded remit of Ombudsman body to deal with complaints in relation to exemption procedures or any unwanted exposure to indoctrination or proselytism;
- Revise the Education Act 1998 and the Rules of National Schools to protect the rights of minority faith and non faith children.
Speaking at the launch of the report, IHRC President Dr Maurice Manning said
"Ireland is a changing society, its increasing diversity brings with it demands for choice in the provision of education which reflects that diversity. Having studied the human rights standards and reflected on the submissions received, the IHRC recommends that to achieve human rights compliance, the State should ensure that there is a diversity of provision of school type within educational catchment areas throughout the State at both primary and second level. This should reflect the diversity of religious and non-religious convictions now represented in the State. Over time this will ensure the human rights of faith (including minority faith) or non faith children in schools can be met."
Dr Manning continued:
"Delivering such change is challenging but I believe that the will is there to collectively resolve any obstacles through communication, understanding, and reaching out to the strongly held views of others. This is the true test of respect and tolerance for different views and beliefs and one which I very much believe we can carry forward in our quest for a solution which carefully balances the human rights of all involved."
Dr Manning added:
"The timing of the launch of this report may be fortunate insofar as the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, T.D., has recently announced the establishment of a Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector to be chaired by Professor John Coolahan. We in the IHRC very much hope that our report to Government will inform the work of that Forum – both on patronage and on diversity."
IHRC Chief Executive Éamonn Mac Aodha stated:
"In making its recommendations to Government today, the IHRC is discharging its statutory functions under the Human Rights Commission Act 2000. The IHRC’s report was informed by the 60 submissions it received from individuals and organisations. These submissions provide a unique insight into the issues that arise on a daily basis in schools from the perspective of parents, teachers, Boards of Management, academics and indeed the students themselves. The IHRC has attempted to reflect these real concerns of parents, families and communities within the framework of human rights protection."
IHRC Commissioner Professor William Binchy said:
"Our overarching recommendation is that diversified provision of school type be introduced to give parents and children greater choice. Pending diversified school provision, significant changes will be required to the current model (where the majority of school patrons are religious denominations) in order to meet human rights standards. We thus call on the Government to introduce a number of structural reforms to protect the rights of minority faith or non faith children being educated in denominational schools today. These include changes to the Education Act 1998 and to the Rules of National Schools."
Professor Binchy continued:
"We recommend that where diverse provision of education does not exist in a school’s catchment area, consideration be given to moving formal religion classes to the start or end of the school day. We recommend that patrons in schools funded by the State should remain sensitive to the impact that manifestation of religious beliefs may have on those with different beliefs. This will avoid any inadvertent indoctrination or proselytism of minority faith or non faith children by teachers. In this regard, an expanded role for an Ombudsman body to consider complaints concerning exemption procedures or any unwanted exposure to indoctrination or proselytism should be considered. The remit of School Inspectors should include inspection of how religion classes are conducted in schools."
In relation to teacher education, Dr Manning said
"that the education of teachers should not include compulsory content that conflicts with the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion of teachers and that the Employment Equality Acts should be appropriately amended to ensure respect for the private life of teachers provided their private life does not improperly encroach on the rights and freedoms of others, for example through any inadvertent indoctrination or proselytism of other faith or non faith children by teachers."
ENDS/
Spokespersons are available for comment
For further information, please contact:
Fidelma Joyce
IHRC
Mob: 087 783 4939
Notes to Editor
The power of the IHRC to make recommendations to Government derives from section 8(d) of the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 which provides that the functions of the IHRC include "mak[ing] such recommendations to the Government as it deems appropriate in relation to the measures which the Commission considers should be taken to strengthen, protect and uphold human rights in the State".
Section 2 of the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 defines "human rights" as
"(a) the rights, liberties and freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by the Constitution, and
(b) the rights, liberties or freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by any agreement, treaty or convention to which the State is a party."
Thus both Constitutional and international human rights standards comprise the definition.
Consultation
In order to open the debate on religion and education from a human rights perspective in Ireland, the Irish Human Rights Commission partnered with the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin in November 2010 to hold a major conference titled " Religion & Education: A Human Rights Perspective".
Following this conference the Commission launched a public consultation process inviting the public to participate in the debate on religion and education in Ireland. Throughout its consultation process the Commission received submissions from individuals such as teachers and parents and various organisations, both religious and non-religious. This process culminated in the IHRC’s final report titled "Religion and Education: A Human Rights Perspective" which includes recommendations to Government on the measures required by the State to meet its human rights obligations in this area.
Demographs
Ireland’s demographics have changed significantly in the past 15 years. According to the most recent statistics, while the vast majority of persons define themselves as belonging to the main Christian Churches (namely Roman Catholic or Church of Ireland), a significant number of persons also now define themselves as being of no belief or of being of Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or other belief. At present, 97% of Irish primary schools have Roman Catholic or Church of Ireland ethos. In the case of Roman Catholic schools, the Patron is often the Bishop of the Diocese and the Church is represented on the Board of Management of schools. The State has historically provided funding for primary schools and set out a certain minimum curriculum to be followed. It has more recently provided funding for second level schools. The Patrons and Boards of Management in schools are largely independent in the management of individual schools. There are few "State" schools in Ireland, namely schools that are wholly run and owned by the State. Recent examples of changes to school patronage has seen Educate Together schools, VEC community national schools and Gaelscoileanna schools receive recognition and funding by the State. Nevertheless, the education system in Ireland remains largely based on private Church initiatives supported by State funding. As the majority of primary and second level schools are under denominational patronage this will inform the ethos and characteristic of the school. At the same time, it is the State which assumes human rights obligations in education and which must vindicate the rights of its citizens.