Schools in firing line over their enrolment policies [Independent.ie]
- Published: 14 December 2010
SCHOOLS that give priority to sons or daughters of teachers when enrolling pupils could be the next to find themselves running foul of the law.
School admissions policies have been thrown into the spotlight following an Equality Tribunal ruling that a secondary school discriminated against a Traveller boy.
John Stokes was excluded from the Christian Brothers High School, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, because his father was not a past pupil -- one of the criteria used by the school for prioritising applications.
An expert said last night that discrimination in school admissions policies was widespread and had been a "timebomb waiting to go off".
Gearoid O Bradaigh, a barrister and former chief executive officer of Co Westmeath VEC, said the only way to solve the problem was for schools to conduct a lottery for places.
"That is the only way to be fair to all," said Mr O Bradaigh. He said there was an obligation on the Department Education to draw up regulations on what ought to be in admissions policies.
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