The Department of Education (DE) is responsible for Northern Ireland's education policy, with the exception of the higher and further education sector which is the responsibility of the Department for the Economy (DfE).
The Department of Education's main areas of responsibility cover pre-school, primary, post-primary and special education; the youth service; the promotion of community relations within and between schools; and teacher education and salaries. Its primary statutory duty is to promote the education of the people of Northern Ireland and to ensure the effective implementation of education policy.
Education Authority
The Education Authority is responsible for ensuring that efficient and effective primary and secondary education services are available to meet the needs of children and young people, and support for the provision of efficient and effective youth services. These services were previously delivered by the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) until the creation of the Education Authority, which assumed these roles in 2015. Classroom 2000 (C2k), on behalf of the authority, is responsible for the provision of information and communications technology managed services to all schools in Northern Ireland. Each of the former ELBs is now a sub region of the Education Authority: