Time for Ireland to move towards a modern education system?
Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe where single-sex schools are still a thing in 2022. However, this might not be the case for much longer.
The Government's is now being urged to end single-sex schools within the next 15 years, with Labour's Aodhán Ó Ríordáin stating co-ed schooling is already 'de facto' policy, and his party now wants a timeline put in place to phase out single-sex schooling entirely.
In a bill set to be published later this week, Labour aims to bring an end to gender discrimination in school admission, stating the current system is "outdated" and that eliminating single-sex schools would promote consent and tackle toxic masculinity.
“The Department of Education hasn’t given sanction or recognition to a new single-sex school since 1998," Deputy Ó Ríordáin said on
Newstalk Breakfast yesterday morning.
Ó Ríordáin explained education is one area that hasn't been tackled when it comes to achieving gender equality.
"So it’s de facto Department policy for all schools to be co-educational - obviously, we have a legacy issue.”
We’re trying to tackle some of the issues in Irish society
Internationally, few countries outside the Arab world currently have as many students in single-sex schools as Ireland, the Labour TD noted.
And this, he says, needs to change.
“We appreciate this is a conversation school communities are going to have to have. It won’t be an easy transition.
"We appreciate the second-level conversation is more complex… but that’s what we’re trying to achieve in this bill.”
Ó Ríordáin also explained that some of the claims around single-sex schools - such as that girls perform better academically in such schools - don't stand up to modern scrutiny.
"What we’re trying to do is to have both genders understand each other better. If we’re trying to tackle some of the issues in Irish society that affects women quite profoundly… we’re probably going to be more successful doing that in a multi-gendered society."
He added it's now time for Ireland to move towards a modern education system that is "more reflective of every other European country".
