BBC
Pilib Mistille claimed excluding her school from funding was a “deliberate act”
Stormont Department for Education (DE) will “punish poverty and reward wealth” with new plans to tackle underachievement, a school headteacher has said.
Pilib Mistille, from Bunscoil an Slave Dhuib in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, said his school and some other schools in the area had not been listed for funding from the RAISE program. .
This is a new £20 million plan to tackle underachievement and tackle educational disadvantage.
Many studies suggest that children from poor backgrounds perform poorly in school.
DE said the list was identified taking into account seven indicators and would continue to be refined.
Part-funded by the Irish Government’s Shared Island Fund, RAISE is committed to a ‘whole community’ approach to reducing educational disadvantage.
The scheme was launched on Wednesday by Education Minister Paul Givan and Irish Government Minister for Education Norma Foley.
“Competition with fee-paying schools”
Ministry of Education
Paul Givan and Norma Foley (centre) began the program on Wednesday.
More than 400 schools in 15 areas across Northern Ireland have been identified as eligible for funding from the scheme.
The list published by DE includes around 40 grammar and prep schools where parents typically pay for their children’s tuition.
West Belfast is home to some of Northern Ireland’s most deprived council wards.
Around 60 per cent of pupils in Bunscoil an Toslebe Dwive are eligible for free school meals, but Mr Mysteil said parents of many other pupils were also eligible for free school meals. It’s getting very close.”
“Understand why schools like this, great schools, good schools, are competing with preparatory schools, fee-paying schools, grammar schools and schools with nominal fees when they need the funding of 60% plus free school meals. We can’t. We’ll make school meals 5% free,” he told BBC News NI.
“This is a great place to live and work, and we are honored to work here.
“But it also has its challenges, and that mainly has to do with the socio-economic challenges that people will have.”
A DE spokesperson said that various data and seven indicators were selected to identify the areas where the program would be implemented.
“The indicators cover GCSE attainment, student absenteeism, the prevalence of special educational needs and entitlement to free school meals,” they said.
“Also included are Northern Ireland’s two multiple deprivation indicators relating to incidents of crime and anti-social behavior, income deprivation affecting children, and health deprivation and disability,” they continued.
The ministry also said the list “will be refined” as it continues to work with the education sector and other stakeholders.
“Parameter changed”
Almost two-thirds of pupils in Buncecoil and Slabe Dwive receive free school meals
Mr Mistille said the aim of the RAISE project was to “focus on the current topic of declining achievement in education”.
“The difference with this is that the parameters have changed,” he said.
“We are one of only three schools in our area that will not receive RAISE because we are not eligible for it.”
Mr Myster said he felt the school’s inaction was “not a mistake”.
“This is a fairly deliberate act on behalf of the Department of Education and the Minister to reallocate funding to areas that may need it, but it also punishes poverty and rewards wealth,” he said. said.
Mr Mystere also said he felt the school was being discriminated against and appealed to Mr Jivan and the faculty to change their approach.
“Our understanding is very simple,” he said.
“It’s going to cut funding from people who need it.”
“We don’t understand that.”
BBC News NI has contacted DE for comment.
In its published list of schools, the ministry said the list was “subject to change” and that “the fact that a school is omitted does not mean that it cannot participate in the program. ” he said.
In Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh, education is primarily conducted in Irish.
