Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has been accused of taking a political sideswipe at Catholic schools.
Last night, Mr Robinson said he did not object to church-run schools, but objected to the state funding them.
He also said the education of Protestant and Catholics in separate schools in Northern Ireland is a benign form of apartheid.
SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie described the comments as “typical” of the DUP leader.
"On the one hand he says the most visionary thing ever said by a DUP politician about our divided society, and then he spoils it with an old-fashioned political sideswipe at Catholic schools,” she said.
"He is still right that we should aim for a future where our children are increasingly educated together - but blaming Catholics for the division is shameful and totally the wrong place to start."
In his speech, Mr Robinson recommended a commission be set up to examine a way of bringing about integration. The majority of Protestants are currently educated in the state system, with Catholics attending government-funded schools run by the Catholic Church.
"I don't in any way object to churches providing and funding schools for those who choose to use them. What I do object to is the state providing and funding church schools," he later added.
Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd described the speech as little more than a thinly disguised sectarian attack on Catholic education, parents and children.
"The DUP do not seek an integrated education system, they seek the end of the Catholic education sector, there is a difference," said Mr O'Dowd.
PA