MLA denies Sinn Fein education row
A Sinn Fein MLA has claimed comments which seemed to show she was out of step with her party on the issue of academic selection were taken out of context.
Thursday, 03 December 2009
Participating to a debate at St Dominic's Grammar School in west Belfast, Jennifer McCann said on Wednesday: "Whenever we set out to change the transfer system and do away with the 11-plus, I think maybe another system could have been put in place more quickly. I would accept some of the criticism of Sinn Fein on this."
The comments fuelled speculations about dissent within republican's ranks over the abolition of the 11-plus.
But the west Belfast MLA has now insisted there was absolutely no contradiction between her and the party line.
"All that I was doing was conceding that when you remove something you replace it. This was done", she said on Thursday.
"The Education Minister replaced this with Transfer 2010 which most schools are now using."
She said she supported Sinn Fein's position against selection.
"It is educationally unsound, it discriminates against thousands of children each year and cannot be allowed to distort our children's primary education," she said.
"The vast majority of people accept this as do primary and secondary school head and teachers, all of the teachers unions, the Catholic Church, and more."
Ms McCann said the party would have liked to see political consensus on the issue.
But she revealed that, in the absence of an agreement, "Education Minister Caitriona Ruane was not prepared to leave the issue of post primary transfer in limbo".
© UTV News