Cathal BarryCollege could be forced to close
Students at the North’s only Catholic third level college have vowed to fight savage cuts to vital funding which could see their college forced to close.
The proposal has caused great concern in the Catholic community and hundreds of students from Belfast’s St Mary’s University College rallied at Stormont on Tuesday to protest at plans by Higher Education Minister Stephen Farry to slash funding.
Prof. Peter Finn, head of St Mary’s, which trains teachers for Catholic schools, accused Mr Farry of abusing his power and authority in a bid to shut the college.
Mr Farry plans to cut a vital £1.1million subsidy to the college arguing that the existing system of five separate teacher training providers in the North is unsustainable. The Alliance minister has also imposed a 10.8% cut to St Mary’s equating to an overall 30% cut to its annual budget.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week, Prof. Finn said “the withdrawal of this funding will make St Mary’s unviable. The minister knows that and his actions amount to forced integration,” he said.
Echoing these concerns, Fr Tim Bartlett, who is responsible for education in the Diocese of Down and Connor, warned the move was a “highly ideological, unnecessary and retrograde” attempt to remove a “vital and highly valued” Catholic institution in the North.
“The decision by Minister Farry to deliberately put St Mary’s in a position of such financial jeopardy undermines pluralism and choice in favour of a policy of forced integration, that is often a thinly disguised cover for intolerance of Catholicism and Catholic education itself,” according to Fr Bartlett.
He accused Mr Farry of leading an attack on all Catholic schools “and those others who benefit from the outstanding teachers and liberal arts graduates it provides,” he said.
Local West Belfast MP Paul Maskey said there is deep anger in the community about the proposed cuts.
“The minister is trying to impose Alliance party policy by doing away with Catholic education on this campus,” Mr Maskey said.
Jarlath Burns, principal of one of Ireland’s largest Catholic post-primary schools and former student of St Mary’s has also hit out at the proposed cuts.
The head of St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Co. Armagh said the proposal “completely discriminates against the people who wish to have their children educated in a Catholic school”.
“I went there, my wife went there and I have two children there. My experience has been that St Mary’s is beyond outstanding.
“I hope the Minister can see beyond a superficial view of Catholic education and see the true value of it,” he said.
SDLP Spokesperson for Employment and Learning, Pat Ramsey accused Minister Farry of attacking Catholic schools for ideological reasons.
Parents
“There are many parents who want their children to be educated in a Catholic ethos. To meet the parental demand for Catholic schools we need a college of St Mary’s calibre to train teachers,” Mr Ramsey said.
Thousands of people have already signed a petition to save the college, and a #savestmarys campaign is gathering pace on social media.