Press Release

2 July 2007

EDU 02/07

COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION HEARS DIRECTLY FROM SCHOOLS

The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Education held an informal reception in Parliament Buildings for representatives from some 23 schools and 10 other educational bodies.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Sammy Wilson MP, said:

“The Committee wanted to hear directly from schools about their concerns over a range of issues, including school amalgamations and redevelopment plans. In particular, a number of Primary School Principals and members of Boards of Governors are here to tell us of the serious problem of under-funding of primary schools.”

Mr Wilson added:
“The Committee has an important role to play in examining the work of the Department of Education and holding the Minister to account. Having heard at first hand the problems of many schools, we will be alerting the Minister of Education to areas of common concern and asking the Department to address these as soon as possible. Clearly, under-funding of primary schools needs to be examined as a matter of urgency”.

ENDS

NOTE FOR EDITOR

The Chairperson of the Committee is Mr Sammy Wilson, MP MLA
The Deputy Chairperson is Mr Dominic Bradley MLA
The Committee has a further 9 members:
Mrs Mary Bradley MLA
Mr Paul Butler MLA
Rt. Hon Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA
Mr Trevor Lunn MLA
Mr Basil McCrea MLA
Miss Michelle McIlveen MLA
Ms Michelle O’Neill MLA
Mr Ken Robinson MLA
Mr Mervyn Storey MLA

The Committee has a scrutiny, policy development and consultative role, and advises the Minister of Education directly on the policies and plans of the Department.

All enquiries about the work of the Committee should be directed to:
Mr Sammy Wilson, MP
Chairperson, Committee for Education
Tel: +44 028 90521192
Fax: +44 028 90521834
e-mail: sammy.wilson@niassembly.gov.uk

John Simmons, Clerk, Committee for Education.
Tel: +44 (0)28 9052 1787
Mobile 079 0005 3929
Fax: +44 (0)28 9052 1371
e-mail : john.simmons@niassembly.gov.uk