Figures issued this year by the Northern Ireland Department of Education, to be headed by Mr Martin McGuinness, reveal the depth of the sectarian divide in the North's schools.
In controlled or state primary schools there are 72,909 Protestant pupils and 3,357 Catholics. In Catholic-maintained schools there are 304 Protestants and 83,858 Catholics.
In fully-integrated schools, where parents have voted by secret ballot to have their children educated without religious bias, there are just 3,314 pupils.
In controlled secondary schools there are 35,039 Protestant pupils and 1,264 Catholics. In Catholic-maintained secondary schools there are 164 Protestant as opposed to 45,905 Catholic pupils.
The small number of integrated secondary schools have a total of 4,905 pupils.
