UK education bill

[I, Brian]

Here in the UK there's a bill in motion that will allow schools to select their pupils.

The pro-argument is this will allow greater parental choice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4760254.stm

However, although schools will be apparently banned from interviewing pupils or selecting them on the grounds of ability, it seems that the door is being opened wide for schools to choose on the basis of faith.

Here in Scotland sectarianism is a real problem, with common segregation of Protestant and Catholic pupils.

Although Scotland is trying an initive to merge some, it's not going too well in places - I find this pretty sad:

The Roman Catholic Church in North Lanarkshire only dropped its fight against five joint school campuses when the council agreed to its demands on the appropriate use of iconography, the provision of separate entrances and staffrooms in each school area.

The overall impression I'm given is that the new school reforms moving through Parliament at the moment will encourage greater segregation on the basis of faith - at a time when surely we should be looking at becoming a more integrated multicultural and multifaith society.

Would be interesting to hear from others, especially in the UK, about how they feel about segregation by faith in schools.

[DT Strain]

segregation leads to ignorance; ignorance leads to fear; fear leads to hatred; hatred leads to violence.