O’Dowd to visit Foyle and Ebrington

THE stakeholders behind the stalled Foyle/Ebrington co-location project will use a planned visit by the Education Minister John O’Dowd to both schools tomorrow to urge him to fast-track the scheme both in the interests of pupils and staff and in the wider context of the regeneration of the city.

Last month the Minister delivered the shock announcement of the need for a new critical assessment of the co-location project pending the completion of a wider Western Education and Library Board (WELB) area plan due to be completed by the end of this school year.

Mr O’Dowd announced that capital projects on the Department of Education (DE) Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) - needed to be consistent with this new area plan to be produced by the end of 2011/12.

He also stipulated all schools will have to undergo a financial and educational viability audit to be completed by December despite recent inspection reports and enrolment data showing Foyle and Ebrington both meet all requirements.

Tomorrow’s meeting will allow both schools the opportunity to ask the Minister to fast-track the audit process - the requirements for which were already met last year - in the case of the co-location partners.

Chairman of the Foyle Board of Governors Robin Young wrote to the Minister asking him to expedite the audit process but received a reply that would not go beyond what Mr O’Dowd had already said in the Assembly.

Welcoming tomorrow’s visit Mr Young said: “We just want to have chance for a one-to-one with the Minister at the school and to give him the chance to have a look around and see the school and meet the people involved.”

He added: “The Minister has made a couple of statements to the Assembly and we want to see exactly what is behind it. We see it more as stalling by the Department of Education (DE).

“Both ourselves and Ebrington received information from DE in the middle of last year saying that both schools were compliant with the Department’s new build policy.”

Last month Mr O’Dowd refused to comment on individual projects and said each school will be dealt with on its own merits.

“On the broader principle, I will say that, if those schools that were on the investment delivery plan (IDP) list and have been waiting a considerable time for newbuilds to begin remain viable and come through the new process that I will set out in relation to area planning, sustainability and educational entitlement going into the future, they will be priorities,” he said.