I read this interesting article the other day about a shortage of school places in the Republic of Ireland. The problem has been caused by the fact that 90% of the schools are Catholic run and will therefore only accept children with Catholic baptismal certificates. The problem has now got so bad that a new school has been opened exclusively for children from non-Irish ethnic backgrounds in the town of Balbriggan, Co Dublin after children could not find a school place for the new term. The school consists of mainly black pupils many of whom are Nigerian and some who are Muslim. The problem of providing children with a place in a school has now been solved to some extent but many are calling the situation a mini apartheid. Personally I think faith schools do tend to lead to more segregation in the community and would prefer to see an school environment that recognises all faiths.
