Bullying widespread among nine year olds [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 December 2009
SOME 40 per cent of nine year olds in the State say they have been the victim of bullying in the past year, according to research published yesterday.
However, the research found that in many instances parents are not aware of the bullying.
The findings are contained in the first comprehensive report from Growing Up in Ireland , the Government-funded national longitudinal study of children in the State.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Audit finds schools are using restrictive admissions policies [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 December 2009
ANALYSIS: Fee-paying schools were excluded from an audit of admissions policies in 1,900 schools
A 2006 AUDIT by the Department of Education found many schools were using restrictive admissions policies to exclude certain categories of students, including those with special needs and the children of immigrants.
The audit found that in one (unnamed) Dublin area, fewer than 1 per cent of students in one secondary school had special learning needs, compared with 17 per cent in neighbouring vocational schools.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
An insider's guide to education [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 December 2009
TEACHER'S PET: There may be trouble ahead . . . Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe will brief the the education correspondents at about 5pm tomorrow, just after Brian Lenihan unveils the Budget.
There is growing apprehension about more cuts in the €9 billion education budget – even though O’Keeffe’s room for manoeuvre is limited.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Agents of foreign state should not control our schools [IrishTimes]
- Published: 08 December 2009
We owe it to ourselves as a democracy to end the role of bishops as patrons of Catholic schools, writes FINTAN O'TOOLE
THE VATICAN, in its refusal to deal with the Murphy commission on child abuse in the Dublin diocese, made it clear that it wishes to be regarded, not as a church organisation, but as a foreign state. Which raises the rather stark question: why do we allow a foreign state to appoint the patrons of our primary schools? If some weird vestige of colonial times decreed that the British monarch would appoint the ultimate legal controllers of almost 3,200 primary schools in our so-called republic, we would be literally up in arms. Why should we tolerate the weird vestige of an equally colonial mentality that allows a monarch in Rome to do just that?
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Centralising student grant process 'would save money' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 08 December 2009
THE cost of processing college grants varies from a low of €70 per applicant in Westmeath to a massive €484 in North Tipperary, a new survey reveals.
It also shows that, despite the €9m spent on processing the applications, many students will not get the first part of their grants until next month.
The survey was carried out by the UCD students' union which says huge savings could be made by centralising the process -- at present 66 local authorities and Vocational Education Committees (VECs) handle applications and decide who should get grants.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
