Primary pupils face €50 school bus charge [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 08 December 2010
PRIMARY school children will be charged to travel on the school bus for the first time next autumn as part of a €4.5 million savings package on school transport. Although it is far less than the €500 annual charge proposed for all school bus passengers by An Bord Snip Nua last year, the National Parents Council-Primary warned that the new €50 fee for those travelling to hundreds of rural primary schools is another added cost to families in the budget.
“The families being hit with school bus charges are the same people losing out on child benefit payments and paying higher taxes,” said council chief executive Áine Lynch.
The primary school bus charge will be limited to €110 per family, but second-level students using the service face a €50 rise to €350 a year.
The distance that third-level students must live from college to qualify for higher grant payments is being almost doubled to 28 miles as part of Education Minister Mary Coughlan’s plan to save €22 million next year and €51m a year on student support by 2014. She had to seek an extra €43m last week to cater for this year’s growth in eligible students, but she is also imposing a 4% cut in payment rates next year on top of this year’s 5% cut.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
Irish students drop in rankings for literacy and maths [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 December 2010
THE RANKING of Irish students in literacy and maths has fallen dramatically in the latest OECD survey. The results, described as “disappointing’’ by Minister for Education Mary Coughlan, contradict the common perception that Ireland enjoys a “world-class” education system.
On reading levels, Ireland has slipped from fifth place in 2000 to 17th place, the sharpest decline among 39 countries surveyed.
The organisation’s Programme for International Student Assessment study says almost one-quarter of Irish 15-year-olds are below the level of literacy needed to participate effectively in society.
The trends in maths also give little cause for encouragement. Ireland has fallen from 16th to 26th place, the second steepest decline among participating countries. Ireland is now ranked as below average in maths.
While the results in science are broadly unchanged, there will be disappointment that Ireland is ranked 18th, despite the Government’s focus on the knowledge economy.
The Department of Education admitted it was surprised by the alarming decline in literacy standards. It said a comparative analysis of Junior Cert papers over the past decade had revealed no sharp decline in academic standards.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Budget 2011 Education Cuts: School Secretaries, Caretakers and Cleaners foot the bill for grant cuts [impact.ie]
- Published: 07 December 2010
News Summary:
IMPACT trade union has said that the announcement in today’s budget of a 5% cut in the capitation grant to primary and secondary schools directly reflects the pay cut imposed on non-education staff announced last month by the Department of Education.News Content:
The Department of Education and Skills last month issued a circular to all schools and VECs instructing them to impose pay cuts, averaging 5%, on up to 17,000 low paid staff from January 1st 2011.
IMPACT trade union represents many of the workers involved and has said that it will challenge the pay cut. Deputy General Secretary Kevin Callinan commented, “The pay cut announced last month was clearly designed to facilitate the cut in school grants announced today. These workers are already on low incomes. They enjoy no other benefits or securities for their vital contribution to the education sector. They will face increased taxes and benefit reductions as a result of this budget. But it is beyond reason that they are also being asked to foot the bill as grants to schools are slashed.
“School secretaries in particular have waited for years to have their terms and conditions of employment standardised. In the worst cases we have found some were earning less than the minimum wage, and many never had the chance to earn much more than that. But the government have now decided that they can be thought of as public servants in order to facilitate a pay cut on top of bearing further austerity measures” he said.
Kevin Myers: Teachers have given us all a harsh lesson -- in laziness [Independent.ie]
- Published: 07 December 2010
Cut to the chase; why were all our schools shut down for the first 10 days of real winter? Was there a hidden paragraph in the Croke Park deal which no one outside the teaching profession noticed, namely:
"When teachers do not feel conditions are quite right for teaching, our schools shall be shut until the unions feel they should be open. Teachers shall still be paid for their time off, but shall not be expected to make good the lost teaching time during their annual holidays."
I already know the teachers' reaction to this column: shrill and angry. When they had their conferences last Easter, my name was invoked (as was John Walshe's) as a hate-figure. That teachers might still be living in a wholly unreal world -- as indeed is the entire public sector under the shelter of that infamous and unprincipled capitulation to union-power -- was not even considered back then. No, indeed: those who say it is raining, with hurricanes to come, are apparently the wicked ones. Blame them, not the weather.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
PISA 2009: Irish Students do well in science but must do better in reading and maths [education.ie]
- Published: 07 December 2010
IRISH STUDENTS DO WELL IN SCIENCE BUT MUST DO BETTER IN READING AND MATHS
Latest PISA results show Ireland’s 15-year-olds scoring above average in science while scores in reading are average and maths scores are slightly below average.
Commenting on the results published by the OECD today, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan said “It is certainly good to see that reforms we have put in place for science education have helped to maintain our above average performance in the tests. However the results in reading and maths are lower than in previous years. While national and international experts have advised that we should treat the results of just one PISA test with caution, I believe that the outcomes show that we must make a major effort to improve our literacy and numeracy standards.”
Full Story: www.education.ie
