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Belfast Telegraph

The education system in N. Ireland must be one of the most divisive in Europe. Not only are the children segregated on the basis of religion on their very first day at school, they then have another division inflicted on them at age eleven when the top third go to grammar school and the remaining two-thirds are sent to ‘intermediate’ schools.

It is an education system dedicated to the 'them and us' ethos. First there is the sectarian version where 'them' is the other side of the religious divide and the children are taught which side they 'belong to'. Later there is the great weeding-out, when the winners get a grammar school place and a career, while the non-winners get a different type of school and a job: in short, a 'them and us' of social class.

I wonder if these two processes interact?

By the time that a boy or girl is eleven, they have experienced seven years of religious segregation. They probably know where the schools for the 'other side' are and have learned to classify local school uniforms on a 'them and us' basis. Doubtless, they have heard their parents talking about the Troubles and have seen riots and destruction on TV, if not on the streets. And so the sectarian segregation which they have experienced at school is given a context and becomes part of the way that they understand the whole society. The child learns that the two communities are mutually hostile and feels that segregated schools are the result.

Now let us suppose that this boy or girl finishes the seven years of primary education, sits the transfer tests, but is not awarded a grammar school place. Surely that is a situation where disappointment can easily turn into resentment? The child sees former companions going on to the grammar school, with its promise of a better career, while he/she is left to go with the rest to a less prestigious school. So they feel some resentment against the system which has branded them in such a way. And the natural channel for that resentment to follow is the one provided by all those years of sectarian segregation. There is a target ready-made, just right for the antagonistic feelings that the 11+ rejection has stirred up.

Could that be true? Could the divisiveness of the education system be a major source of antagonism in Ulster society? Are feelings of rejection after the 11+ finding an outlet in sectarian animosity?

Supporters of selection and segregation will say that this theory is mere speculation, has no foundation in empirical evidence and cannot be tested. But that is not the case. One testable implication would be that grammar school pupils will be found to be under-represented in an analysis of the educational backgrounds of people actively involved in the Troubles. They will be under-represented because 11+ success will have prevented the resentment which fuels sectarian animosity. So if research reveals that 40% or more of those imprisoned during the Troubles attended grammar school, then the theory above has been disproved. But if research shows that only 20% or less attended grammar school, then the theory has been confirmed and must be taken seriously as a criticism of a divisive and dangerous education system.

Let us hope that the necessary research will soon be under way.