;
Ulster-Scots: ''Männystrie o Lear'' , type = Department , logo = , logo_width = 200px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , formed = June 1921 (as

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

), , preceding1 =

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, dissolved = , superseding = , jurisdiction =

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, headquarters = Rathgael House, Balloo Road, Bangor, Co. Down, BT19 7PR , employees = 609 (September 2011) , budget = £1,894.6 million (current) & £114.7 million (capital) for 2011–12 , minister1_name = Vacant , minister1_pfo = , chief1_name = , chief1_position = , chief2_name = , chief2_position = , child1_agency = , website
www.deni.gov.uk
, footnotes = The Department of Education (DENI) ( ga, An Roinn Oideachais; Ulster-Scots: ''Männystrie o Lear'') is a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

Northern Irish government department in the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...

. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Education.

Aim

The department's overall vision is "to ensure that every learner fulfils her or his potential at each stage of development". Its key stated priorities are: raising Standards for all; closing the performance gap, increasing access and equality; developing the education workforce; improving the "learning environment"; and transforming education management.

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for the following levels of education: * pre-school * primary * post-primary * special Until 2016 the former

Department for Employment and Learning The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), ( ga, An Roinn Fostaíochta agus Foghlama; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment for Employ an Learnin''), was a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The min ...

was responsible for further and higher education policy in Northern Ireland. Further and higher education are now the responsibility of the

Department for the Economy The Department for the Economy (DfE, ga, An Roinn Geilleagair) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Econo ...

. The Department of Education also covers: * youth policy * community relations within and between schools * teacher education and salaries As an organisation, its key functions include advising the minister on the determination of education policy, framing legislation, accounting for the effectiveness of the education system, allocating, and monitoring and accounting for resources. Through the Education and Training Inspectorate, it evaluates and reports on the quality of teaching and learning and teacher education. Administration of the education system is delegated to a single combined authority, funded by the department: *

Education Authority The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 12) which was passed by the North ...

Its main counterpart in the

United Kingdom Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

is the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

. The main counterpart in the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

is the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

History

was established at the foundation of Northern Ireland in June 1921 and was subsequently renamed the Department of Education under

direct rule Direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separatists declared independence ...

, introduced in March 1972. An education ministry was also included in the

briefly formed in 1974. The department's remit under direct rule was much wider, incorporating cultural and sport policy (now held by the

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), translated in Irish as and in Ulster-Scots as , was a devolved government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Mi ...

) and further and higher education (now held by the

). Following a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the

Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

on 23 May 1998 and the granting of

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

to the

Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...

on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and

were established by the

under Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. The Department of Education (with its reduced remit) was therefore one of the six direct rule Northern Ireland departments that continued in existence after devolution, following the

and

The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 set out new devolved Northern Ireland government departments and the Northern Ireland Executive.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/uksi_19990283_en.pdf Office of Public Sector Information Departments cre ...

. A devolved minister took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of

ministers from the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

: * between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000; * on 11 August 2001; * on 22 September 2001; * between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007. Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption. On 11 January 2012, the

First Minister and deputy First Minister The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of the Northern Ireland Executive and have overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the different titles for the two ...

, Peter Robinson and

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

respectively, announced their intention to abolish the Department for Employment and Learning. Its functions would be "divided principally" between the Department of Education and the

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment The Department for the Economy (DfE, ga, An Roinn Geilleagair) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Econo ...

"in an agreed manner". The proposal was resisted by the Alliance Party, which viewed it as "power grab" by the Democratic Unionist Party and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, but was approved on 18 January 2012. No timescale for the abolition was outlined and the department remained in operation, as of late March 2012. From 2 December 1999 to 25 May 2016, the department was headed by

legislators. It was not until 25 May 2016 that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)'s

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

became the first non-Sinn Féin politician to head the Northern Ireland Department of Education.

Ministers of education

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the

/Education Secretaries of the British

were responsible for the department: *

George Howarth Sir George Edward Howarth (born 29 June 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Knowsley. He also served the seat's predecessors since being elected in a by-election in 1986, firstly as the ...

(2000) *

Jane Kennedy Jane Kennedy may refer to: * Jane Kennedy (courtier) (died 1589), Scottish courtier *Jane Kennedy (actress) (born 1964), Australian actress and comedian *Jane Kennedy (politician) (born 1958), British Labour Party Member of Parliament See also *Ja ...

(2002–04) * Barry Gardiner (2002–04) * Angela Smith (2005–06) *

Maria Eagle Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow Cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Memb ...

(2006–07)

References

External links

Department of Education

] * {{DEFAULTSORT:Department Of Education (Northern Ireland) Subnational education ministries, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Executive Education administration in Northern Ireland Ministries established in 1999 1999 establishments in Northern Ireland