It has been a tough decade to be a teacher or school leader in Northern Ireland. For much of that time we seem to have stumbled from one political crisis to another.
In most jurisdictions this would probably result in histrionic arguments between political rivals on TV and radio, or hyperbolic headlines in newspapers and blogs. In Northern Ireland it risks collapsing our system of government altogether: when no one is officially in charge, all manner of bad things can happen.
The vast majority of people in Northern Ireland agree that the quarter century since the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement has been immeasurably better than the preceding quarter century (or more) of political violence. But the carefully crafted structures of shared government that came from the agreement contain their own seeds of destruction.
The Northern Ireland Assembly established by the agreement provides for compulsory coalition government as political parties with sufficient levels of support in the assembly are guaranteed ministerial posts in the executive committee (the NI government). We have two “prime ministers” - a first minister and a deputy first minister (co-equals despite the terms), one each from the largest party in each of the two communities.
Furthermore, members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) can designate as “unionist” or “nationalist” after they are elected. This is significant because key decisions made by the assembly not only require majority support but also a set minimum level of support among the unionist or nationalist blocs of MLAs.
The consensus rules provided an in-built veto to avoid the unfair exclusion of minority views. The system was intended to encourage cooperation, otherwise decisions would not be made. This worthy goal has not worked so well in practice.
Since its formation in 1999 the NI Assembly has been effectively shuttered for 40 per cent of the time due to political disputes. Recent years have been even worse: the assembly has been closed for more time than it has been open since 2017, with the most recent period of closure only ending in February this year.
The ‘parlous state of schools’ in Northern Ireland
This is not without consequence, as was revealed starkly in a report by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC) at Westminster. It is worth noting that many school leaders made eloquent, if shocking, presentations to the committee’s investigation on the parlous state of schools.
Pointing to a growing school-age population, a significant increase in children and young people with special education needs, a “crumbling” school estate and low workforce morale, the report shows that per capita funding for schools was lower in Northern Ireland than in any other country of the UK.
The dire funding situation has gone on over for a decade, with more and more schools moving into deficit.
This was exacerbated by further cuts in the 2023-24 budget set by the UK-based secretary of state, Chris Heaton-Harris, who was nominally in charge while the assembly was closed. This was widely viewed as a “punishment budget” to force the politicians to reopen the assembly.
These budget cuts, allied with widespread protests by public sector workers, including teachers, principals and school support staff, may have helped jolt local politicians into restoring the NI Assembly. The ostensible reason for restoration was a negotiated funding uplift provided by the UK government.
Education budget allocation ‘cut yet again’
While this did address some immediate pressures, including a teachers’ pay deal for 2023-24, when the restored assembly recently considered the draft 2024-25 budget the allocation for education had been cut yet again. At this point it is not even clear if there is sufficient money to sustain the recently agreed pay deals in future years.
The longer-term failure of the “consensus rules” in the assembly has been the creation of a state of policy paralysis, with major strategic decisions on education issues either ducked or parked: we debated academic selection for nearly a decade and ended up with no decision; the public administration of education was reformed to save money for reinvestment and reduce the plethora of interest bodies, but achieved none of these goals; and special education needs has been under review for almost 15 years.
All in all, it is a sorry tale, but throughout the period our teachers and school leaders have been holding our school system together with what feels like their bare hands.
If the proposed budget is not changed we are simply getting closer and closer to breaking point. A recent report from the Independent Review of Education, commissioned by the Department of Education, confirmed the decade of education underfunding, while the NIAC report went further in saying that “after years of under-investment, the education sector has been struggling to fulfil its statutory duties”.
We are close to a situation where, if someone suggests, “Things can’t get any worse,” even one-time optimists will say, “Oh yes they can.”
Tony Gallagher is a honorary professor at the Queen’s University Belfast School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work. He tweets @tgeducation
