Teachers want new RE directive to be withdrawn

The Government has been accused of misinformation over a controversial new rule insisting that schools provide alternative tuition for students who wish to opt out of religious instruction, despite not providing schools with new resources.

The move has been severely criticised by the Religion Teachers’ Association of Ireland. According to the RTAI, which represents over 250 frontline teachers, the circular made no distinction between “religious education and religious instruction which further fuels the misconception that students in RE class are being schooled in one particular faith”.

“We were disappointed with the minister that he was not being better advised,” Valerie Roe, Chair of the Religion Teachers’ Association of Ireland (RTAI) told The Irish Catholic. “It is extraordinary that he did not support his own department’s RE syllabi designed for students of all faiths and worldviews.”

Compassion

Religion teachers are very used to dealing with the complexities of the plural world we live in, she continued, and are well-known for their creativity, compassion and for being there for all their students.

“It is a great subject that opens up all the big questions for students whatever their belief system.”

Currently around 50% of Junior Certificate students – 25,000 – take RE each year. Around 1,300 study the subject for Leaving Certificate.

In her strongly worded letter to the minister, Ms Roe said the negative tone of the circular and its failure to state positively the opportunities offered by Religious Education for students, “is not only a lost opportunity but inexcusable”.

Religious Education, as both an exam and non-exam subject, “has contributed significantly to the holistic education of students,” and “promotes personal reflection, ecumenical engagement, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and ecological education and provides a framework for the work of social justice within schools”. It also promotes “social cohesion”.

The Association called on the Minister to either withdraw or correct the circular.