No-nonsense law guide for young people launched

The launch of a no-nonsense guide for young people, on all aspects of the law in Northern Ireland, has been welcomed today by the Department of Education.

The Young Citizen’s Passport will be distributed by the Department of Education to all pupils at Key Stage 4 and in Years 13 and 14, this September. It will also be issued each year to all Year 11 pupils.

Speaking at the launch, Gerry McGinn, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education, said: “This booklet will be a valuable resource to students here, not only in Citizenship classes, but in providing practical information about issues that impact on their daily lives.

“The introduction of the Passport is particularly timely, given that 2005 will be the European Year of Citizenship Through Education and that the Education Minister, Barry Gardiner, has accepted proposals to make Citizenship education compulsory for all post-primary pupils, as part of Learning for Life and Work.”

The Passport, which is already in its ninth edition in England and Wales, has been substantially revised to comply with Northern Ireland law and local circumstances and has been produced by the Citizenship Foundation, an independent charity which aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society.

(MB/GMCG)