Schools to get €22m for laptop scheme [IrishTimes]
- Published: 28 December 2009
MORE THAN 3,000 primary schools will receive €22 million in grants to buy laptops and digital projectors as part of the Government’s plan for smart classrooms, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe announced yesterday.
In total, 3,213 primary schools are getting grants ranging from €1,769 to €33,000. Each school gets a basic grant of €1,700 plus €34.59 per pupil.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Call for overhaul of school works process [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 28 December 2009
SCHOOLS in Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s home county which have been waiting from eight to 12 years for building works to begin are proof of a need to overhaul the bureaucratic process, a teachers’ union has claimed.
The list of nine primary schools in Offaly whose applications for major building works has been issued by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) to demonstrate the drawn-out assessment process it says is faced by staff and boards of management of schools on the Department of Education school building programme.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
Bishop's life out of touch with reality [IrishTimes]
- Published: 28 December 2009
THE STRONGEST impression one gets of Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan these days is of someone who has lived a life blissfully disconnected from reality.
He, of course, is the last bishop standing of all those who served in Dublin during the period of intensive cover-up of clerical child sexual abuse discovered by the Murphy commission.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Teachers must think again [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 December 2009
Ireland prides itself on the quality of its education system. Primary teachers are drawn from the highest point-scoring Leaving Certificate students, while those taking the Post Graduate Diploma in Education -- the old H Dip -- are drawn from the ranks of honours graduates.
The teachers help Irish pupils perform well in international comparisons of achievements in English, maths and science.
There is always room for improvement but the good standing of our education system is recognised and has helped attract foreign direct investment.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Australian template is worth following [Independent.ie]
- Published: 27 December 2009
Australians take their sport seriously. They rack up medals at the Olympics -- 58 at the Sydney games, 46 in Beijing -- and they excel at cricket and both forms of rugby.
Even though rugby union struggles for players and support when set against rugby league and Aussie rules football, the Australians have twice managed to win the World Cup. Their goal setting does not include coming second, no matter the sport or the odds stacked against them.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
