AN ALL-BOYS VEC in Cork may be required to accept a girl who wishes to become a pupil at the facility. Nagle Community School, located on the Mahon peninsula, is the last boys-only VEC in Cork.
The girl, who suffers from autism, had her application to Nagle Community College turned down on account of her gender.
Under section 29 of the Educational Act, an appeal was brought by the girl’s mother to the general secretary in the Department of Education. It is expected that the department will overrule the VEC’s decision. The girl’s name and age are being withheld.
Green Party councillor Chris O’Leary of Cork South Central, who sits on the board of management at the school and is a member of the board of the VEC, said the move would represent a great stride forward in terms of discrimination and in providing equal educational opportunities in the community.
“I welcome any ruling that would allow the girl in question to attend the school and exercise her constitutional right to an education,” he said. “I feel it is a bad reflection on today’s society when a parent has to battle to win the right for their child to have a co-education in a community school. I am very much aware of the struggle that this lady has encountered in the past few months and I am delighted that she was brave enough to take on the system and win.”
Mr O’Leary says watching 50 per cent of a school-going community leaving every day to attend a school elsewhere makes absolutely no sense. “By opening this school to both sexes, we are offering everyone the chance of an education in their own locality. I sincerely hope that the department sees fit to overturn the ruling against the girl.”