Money not religion wields real power in our schools

THANK, er, God, the row about religious ethos in north Dublin schools has been defused since the Church postponed the parental ballot on school patronage. Claims made by a selection of schools about their Catholic ethos were ridiculously extravagant and created hurt and indignation in the multidenominational school sector. In an attempt to rally parental support, one Catholic Gaelscoil predicted that saying ‘Dia dhuit’ could be forbidden. Another centre of learning argued that Catholic schools have the monopoly on hope and on generating ‘a sense of hope in times of loss or crisis’. Obviously among the truly devout, for whom religious faith is the bedrock of all education, the grand defence of Catholic education might strike a chord.

For the rest of us, the nativity play in the local Educate Together school is as good as the one at the local Catholic school. The same goes for St Patrick’s Day badges and cards. Most schools celebrate Christmas and Easter, St Patrick’s Day, all the red-letter occasions, although the religious emphasis varies, depending on patronage.

But in terms of influence on school life, religious patronage is totally eclipsed by economic class.

It is the latter that determines whether initiatives like healthy eating get off the ground, not, as the propagandists for Catholic schools pretend, the one true faith. The so-called ‘voluntary donations’ determine whether a school gets new windows or iPads for every classroom. The row about religious patronage deflects from the insidious role played by money in our so-called ‘free education system’. If only the passions unleashed in the defence of Catholic education could be harnessed to demand proper State funding for education, so that every child could enjoy equality at school.