Statement by East Belfast Assembly candidate Andrew Girvin:
“Across Northern Ireland but particularly in inner city areas like East Belfast there is grave concern about educational underachievement particularly within the Protestant community.
“Research proves that Protestant children from disadvantaged backgrounds were much more likely to leave school without qualifications. A report by the Equality Commission published in October last year found “Protestants persistently have lower levels of attainment than Catholics at GCSE and A ‘level”. This fact cannot go ignored any longer. There is a need for focused action to address it.
“Added to this, in the 2014/15 academic year just 29.5% of those who enrolled at Queen’s were Protestant while 45.3% where Roman Catholic. That compares with a 48.5% / 43.3% breakdown of Roman Catholics to Protestants in the general population of 18, 19 and 20 year olds.
“We need to let those that may not perform as well academically as their peers know it’s not the end of the road. If elected I’ll be fighting on their behalf to strategise and produce solutions that will help move them forward and to give them hope for the future by way of trades and further education.
“Shamefully, the last Assembly saw an intensification of Sinn Fein/IRA’s assault on our education system and preferential treatment for the Irish language sector.
“Contrast that with the total lack of action to address underachievement by the Protestant community. TUV is committed to addressing this issue and forcing it to the top of the political agenda.”