From our Education spokesperson.....Recent headlines in the media about Protestant underachievement in education are nothing new. The real story is the failure of those elected representatives of those areas in question to do anything about it. Protestant young people have been described as the 'educational underclass.' More and more children are leaving school without any qualifications and even without basic numeracy and literacy skills. Attendance rates are appalling and EWOs are very much in demand. There is little or no hope of gaining employment in the bleak economic landscape. The question is who has failed our young people and why is this situation allowed to continue. Many in the PUL community will point to the fact that all of our education ministers have been from Sinn Fein. Undoubtably so and it is reasonable to suggest that they will not have had the best interests of our community as their first priority. If that is the case why didnt the DUP take this role on or at the very least shout louder in defence of the PUL young people ensuring that their needs were met ? Is it beyond the bounds of belief to suggest that perhaps they have their own agenda at heart ? After all it is far easier to control and manipulate an uneducated electorate isn't it ? Cynicism ? Perhaps but not outside the boundaries of probability.
Meanwhile against the backdrop of Ardoyne, the ongoing flag dispute and the failure of the Haass talks our children and young people are being forgotten. They are alienated from education, the political system and have almost no positive role models . They are floundering in a sea of discontent, don't understand their own culture and are frequently being labelled as thugs and even criminals. They are the forgotten generation. This does not bode well for the future of the PUL community. From where will we get our future leaders, strong and confident enough to take us forward. I suggest that this is a new battle that we face. Not in the trenches or in the streets but in the classroom. This is perhaps the most difficult fight that we have ever had to deal with.
Not that long ago education just didnt seem that important to our community . The older generation will tell us that they would finish school on a Friday and start work the following Monday. Housing and working conditions might have been poor but at least there was employment. The decline of the traditional industries means that this is no longer the case. Our young people are often being condemned to a life spent in a fruitless search for employment and relying on the benefits system. This means scraping by on meagre handouts that are increasingly being eroded by Cameron's henchmen. Education provides a way out, a safety net as well as increased confidence and self esteem. The current young generation have inherited the educational deficit of the past. Concerns were first raised back in the 1970s about poor numeracy and literacy among school leavers . These concerns were ignored and education board officials consistently pointed to the wonderful Grammar school system in place in Northern Ireland. Yes it served those who attended well but as we know fewer PUL children made it to Grammar school than those in affluent areas so once again the system let them down . Those who left school in the 70s with little or no educational achievement are the parents and grandparents of today. They didnt have a good experience of the education system and this is more likely to pass on to their children. This the cycle of lack of engagement with education began. The education system has been a cold house for the PUL community so it is hardly surprising that education is so undervalued. If we continue in this way however how can we ever hope to build the equal thriving content society that we aspire to? No single school or educational establishment could begin to tackle this situation alone. It needs to be a joint approach including every youth organisation, parent, grandparent , politician etcetera etcetera . Everyone in the PUL community has a role to play. At the very heart of it however is the fact that parents and young people both need to be supported to understand the value of education and its role in the future of the PUL community . In this toxic political atmosphere in which every Protestant is labelled as a bigot for wanting to maintain their culture and even the so called 'liberal'Alliance Party attack us at every opportunity, we need to break the cycle and promote education as the only way forward. It provides confidence and self esteem and helps us to understand that we are safe within the union as long as we have strong leaders to guide us.
As the elections approach and political representatives come looking for your vote use the opportunity to ask what they are doing to tackle the educational imbalance. Ask for tangible evidence, not just token membership of committees. This is the new battle for the PUL community. Don't let our young people be left behind!

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