Religion, and how it is being taught in schools nationwide is a hot topic of discussion of late, and so no doubt many parents and teachers alike will welcome this latest development.
According to reports this evening, Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has scrapped a 50-year old rule giving privileged status to the teaching of religion in primary schools.
Currently, primary school teachers are required to dedicate 30 minutes a day to religious education – far more time than that allocated to other subjects such as science.
However, the abolition of Rule 68 of the 1998 Education Act will ensure that religious education will no longer be given such priority in the daily class schedule.
Minister O’Sullivan confirmed the move today while speaking at the Irish Primary Principals Network conference, describing Rule 68 as a mere ‘symbol’.
“Rule 68 was a symbol; a symbol of our past, and not our future. The language in the Rule was archaic, and I’m glad it’s gone,” she said.
The Minister added that her department is already working on a new curriculum which will take a new angle on the teaching of religion, taking into account the “religions and beliefs held by people in Ireland and across the world”.
