IPPN

Published: 24 June 2011

THE country’s vocational education committees (VECs) offer the most cost-effective and inclusive option for communities looking for a different kind of primary school, representatives claimed yesterday.

The sector has already started operating four primary schools in Dublin, Kildare and Meath on a pilot basis as community national schools.

These have a multi-denominational ethos, catering for children of all faiths and none.

The Irish Vocational Education Association told the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector that VECs also offer many administrative supports that already exist for their role as operators of second level schools and further education colleges.