A Conservative Party spokesman has challenged the Ulster Unionists to “spell out clearly where they stand on segregation”. Johnny Andrews said that Danny Kinahan MLA’s evasiveness on the future of Northern Ireland’s teacher training colleges, “poses serious questions about the UUP’s commitment to tackling division”.
“After the Conservatives’ education spokesperson made an unequivocal statement on the BBC about the need to end segregation in teacher training, it was disappointing that Danny Kinahan chose to evade the issue”, Johnny stated. “As DEL ministers, Reg Empey and Danny Kennedy both failed to deliver a merger of Belfast’s teacher training colleges, but they were at least committed to the principle of ending segregation. Now it appears that the party’s position is up for argument and the UUP does not know whether teachers should be trained together, or whether it should pander to other agendas”.
“This could be interpreted as another symptom of the Ulster Unionists’ confusion under Mike Nesbitt. One minute the party is attempting to portray itself as moderate, the next it is competing to seem even more intolerant than the DUP. Many grassroots members will be appalled that a UUP spokesman cannot commit to end segregation in teacher training or support measures to bring about genuinely shared education. Division and duplication in Northern Ireland cost up to £1 billion per year. The Conservative Party is clear that we can’t afford to maintain segregated housing, schools or services, and it is bad for society to do so. It is absurd to have two separate teaching colleges in Belfast, divided along religious lines, producing so many teachers that the majority can’t find employment. The only sensible policy is to do something about it.”