Education
Education for 4 – 16 year olds
Education is administered centrally by the Department of Education and locally by five Education and Library Boards. Education is compulsory for pupils aged between 4 and 16 years. Pupils transfer from primary to secondary education at the age of 11 and, in most areas, secondary education operates on a selective basis.
The main categories of schools are:
- controlled schools provided by the Education and Library Boards and managed through Boards of Governors;
- maintained schools, mainly under Roman Catholic or non-denominational management; they receive grant-aid from the Department of Education. Schools where the curriculum is taught through the Irish language are included in this sector;
- voluntary grammar schools which may be under either Roman Catholic or non-denominational management;
- an increasing number of integrated schools which aim to educate Protestant and Roman Catholic pupils together.
The running costs of all schools are met in full from public funds and all schools have the opportunity to opt for full funding for capital development.
Curriculum
There is a common curriculum in all grant-aided schools based on six broad areas of study - English, mathematics, science and technology, the environment and society, creative and expressive studies and (for secondary and Irish-medium primary schools) language studies. The curriculum is, however, currently the subject of a thorough review and significant change will be implemented over the next few years.
Higher and Further Education
Northern Ireland has two universities, Queen's University, Belfast and the University of Ulster, which offer a wide range of subjects. Both universities have international reputations in the fields of engineering, information technology and bioengineering and are actively seeking to develop strategic research links with a number of universities in the USA. Approximately 42,000 students are enrolled in universities and teacher training colleges.
There are 17 Colleges of Further and Higher Education which are focused on vocational education and there is a strong tradition of links with industry and business. There are currently almost 90,000 vocational students including 65,000 who are part-time and a further 60,000 non-vocational students attending the colleges.