Should schools be religion free? Parents asked for their say on school matters

Parents with children in pre-school or primary school will soon be asked by the Department of Education to take part in a survey that will ask them to outline their preferences on a number of school matters. 

The main topic at hand will be whether schools in Ireland should continue to be run by religious orders, with 95% of them in the country currently operating in that way. 

Other matters such as school ethos' and whether boys and girls should learn separately will also be touched on, according to an article by RTÉ. 

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The survey idea was first announced two years ago but there has since been little to no progress made on it. 

Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, has now confirmed the survey will be rolled out "in the coming weeks." 

One of the main goals of the survey is to see whether parents think that catholic schools should convert to multi-denominational schools. 

In the 2022 census, it was discovered that 25% of parents with children under the age of four said they had no religion. 

The last government promised to treble the number of multi-denominational schools in the country by 2030, however very little progress has been made on this.

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Since 2016, just four Catholic schools have made the switch to become multi-denominational. 

"It’s really important that we get a clear picture and understanding of what parents want, not just in terms of denominational or nondenominational education, but also in relation to single sex or other education and gaelscoileanna," Minister McEntee said. 

The surveys will be completed in the privacy of parents' own home when it is rolled out.