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Two Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church, Newry and Armagh, have called on the Minister of Education to reconsider his proposal to reorganise the administration of education in Northern Ireland.
The statements issued by each Presbytery are as follows
The Newry Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland calls upon the Minister for Education to give further consideration to his proposal to reorganise the administration of Education in Northern Ireland. The members of Presbytery are conscious of the great advantage of a locally based system of administration where there is easy access for parents, principals, Boards of Governors and other users. Presbytery deplores the Minister's suggestion that the present Headquarters at Armagh should be replaced by a Headquarters at Omagh which is on the periphery of the proposed Board area. It is the view of the Presbytery that this will increase rather than decrease expenditure both at school and Board level. Furthermore, the members are conscious that there are occasions when representatives of Boards of Governors visit Board Headquarters in connection with such matters as the appointment of senior staff of schools. They therefore call upon the Minister to recognise the rights of transferors and superseded managers of Church schools handed over to the State and ask that the Headquarters be maintained at Armagh. Members would point out that on every occasion that a visit is made by a parent, principal, member of the Board or Board of Governors the distance involved in travelling to Omagh is opposed to Armagh is increased by 80 miles and an extra 2 hours of time involved.
Finally the members would point out that there is already a perception in the Annalong and Kilkeel area of the disadvantage of being on the periphery of the Board area. They believe this will be further exacerbated by the relocation of Headquarters at a distance of 80 miles from their area thus involving a round trip of 160 miles (journeys of approximately 4 hours in duration.
The Presbytery of Armagh calls upon the Minister of Education to give further consideration to his plans to reorganise the total administration of education in Northern Ireland. The Presbytery is conscious of the great advantage of a locally-based system of administration whereby parents, principals, members of the Board and Boards of Governors and other users have easy access to those who take decisions.
Presbytery, in the case of the Southern Board, very strongly deplores the minister's proposal to move the present headquarters from Armagh to Omagh. It is our view that the planned changes will increase, rather than decrease~ the level of expenditure both at board anal school level. Furthermore, we are aware that within our boundaries almost the whole of Armagh City and District Council, Craigavon Borough Council and a part of Dungannon District Council lies. We call upon the minister to recognise the rights of transferors and superseded managers of Church schools handed over to the State in this significant area of population - the largest within the proposed new board - and to retain the headquarters of educational administration in Armagh.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services on behalf of the Presbyteries of Newry and Armagh.
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