Madam, - Now that it is officially recognised that subtle and not-so-subtle apartheid is thriving in secondary schools (The Irish Times, April 28th), it will be interesting to see what happens next.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has the power to bring schools which exclude the children of the privileged to heel with one stroke of her pen. Is she prepared to do that, live up to the ideals of the Education Act 1998 and give equality of access to education to all students irrespective of background?
The Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORI), which seeks "to influence educational policy process, structures and personnel with a view to promoting genuine Christian education", also has the power to persuade these schools to cease this practice. Will it too be up to the challenge? Time will tell.
One thing is certain. The genie is out of the bottle and it will be increasingly difficult for either the Minister or CORI to pontificate about equality in education unless they are seen to tackle the issue head on. - Yours, etc,
JIM O'BRIEN, Parkview, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan.