Education Committee Chairperson Chris Lyttle MLA has launched a consultation into a proposed private member’s Bill to tackle the exclusion of teaching from fair employment legislation.

The Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 allows discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in the recruitment of teachers. The East Belfast MLA said he believed there was increasing agreement on it being unacceptable for teachers to be excluded from protections against religious discrimination in employment.

“Research carried out by the UNESCO Education Centre at Ulster University suggests only two per cent of teachers in Catholic primary schools are from a Protestant background, and in primary schools with mainly Protestant pupils, only seven per cent of teachers are from a Catholic background,” he said.

“I am therefore seeking the views of the public to ask if they agree teachers should be included in the Fair Employment and Treatment Order (NI) 1998 and propose to make this change by way of a Private Member’s Bill at the Assembly.

“I welcome all views on this important matter and encourage as many people and organisations as possible to take part in the survey before the closing date of June 10 2021.”

The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DRMZZ78