The SDLP has been challenged by Sinn Fein to explain why they voted with a DUP motion in the Assembly which was designed to prevent the targeting of social need within the education system system here.
Cllr Patricia Logue
Cllr Patricia Logue, SF spokesperson on education, accused the SDLP of “reneging” on “progressive products.”
Cllr Logue said: “The SDLP have unfortunately taken the decision to abandon the principle of ‘objective need’ as they have supported the DUPs attempts to sectarianise the issue of educational underachievement and support the DUPs stance that free school meal entitlement is not an indicator of poverty.
“For some time now the SDLP have been telling us that they were advocates of using ‘objective need’ when utilising resources to tackle the effect of poverty on our pupils’ learning experience, but today they have apparently reneged on this fundamental principle of progressive politics.”
Cllr Logue said in supporting the motion the SDLP had demonstrated their willingness to buy into the sectarian myth peddled by the DUP that the community in most need is the Protestant community.
She added: “This stands in stark contrast to the facts of the matter, indeed multi-deprivation figures regularly illustrate that while the effects of poverty are evidenced across all sections of our community, it is within predominantly Catholic wards that the effects of poverty are most keenly felt.
“Indeed a recent Labour Force Report examining Economic Activity based on Community background identified the local Catholic community as suffering from higher levels of economic inactivity, higher levels of unemployment, higher levels of single parent families and indeed lower levels of home ownership.
Cllr Logue added Sinn Féin remained committed to targeting social need regardless of creed.
She added: “We want to give additional resources to schools regardless of the religion of the pupil. We will do that on the basis of need, not creed.”
Cllr Logue said the SDLP must come forward and clarify their position.
She concluded: “Surely they could not have abandoned the principle of objective need, and indeed the Catholic and Protestant Working Class all in one go!”
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