New primary schools will have minimum of 16 teachers
- Published: 12 September 2008
By John Walshe Education Editor
Schools of the future will be much larger, with new primaries in developing areas having a minimum of 16 teachers.
Minister Batt O'Keeffe unveiled his vision for the future of education yesterday, stating that schools should have a "critical mass" of pupils at both primary and second level.
He disclosed that in developing areas all new primary schools, in general, should have a minimum of 16 teachers.
And he will ask the Catholic Church to review the viability of their small secondary schools around the country.
But the minister has been accused of trying to stifle the growth of all-Irish and other minority schools. This follows his decision to review the criteria for recognition of new schools.
At present, the names of 17 infants have to be submitted to his department before temporary recognition is granted -- after three years, the school needs at least 53 pupils before it gets permanent recognition.
But the minister said the requirement for 17 infants was too low, and that it was inconceivable that it would continue at such a low level.
"I would have no control over my budget if any group could set up a school, willy nilly, with just 17 pupils," said the minister.
He added that, in new areas, he would prefer to see schools with at least 16 teachers. The state, he suggested, could not afford to continue to have too many small schools in expanding areas.
However, the patron body for Irish language schools said it was strongly opposed to such a move.
Donall O'Conaill, director for Foras Patrunachta na Scoileanna Lan-Gaeilge Teo, said the requirement was much lower in Northern Ireland at only 12 infants. The body representing 140 Gaelscoileanna also sharply criticised the minister.
Church of Ireland education spokesman Rev John McCullough said it would be very unfair if the minister were not going to consider smaller but viable schools for the Protestant community.
Meanwhile, Mr O'Keeffe has confirmed that he is willing to meet Catholic Church education groups who want to set up new voluntary secondary schools. As disclosed in the Irish Independent, they feel "sidelined" by the department in the planning of new second-level schools.
Conspiracy
He said he categorically denied that there was any "conspiracy" within the department in relation to patronage of new schools, and that he appreciated the role that the Church had played in education.
The minister would welcome consultation but added that no application for a new secondary school had been made by the Church which, he noted, had asked that VECs take over their schools in a number of areas.
He would be asking the Church to look at the long-term viability of some of their smaller schools.
In terms of new schools, he was definitely not tied to any model and any existing patron was free to apply.
The minister said that he would ask the Church to "marry" the separate statements made by Bishop Leo O'Reilly and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on diversity as
Building sector supports schools lease-back plan
- Published: 11 September 2008
THE building industry has welcomed Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe's proposals to generate employment by getting developers to build schools that would be leased back by his department.
Mr O'Keeffe has asked builders to construct schools in areas where they are needed, which the Department of Education would then lease and eventually buy back, in a scheme that could speed up delivery of schools projects as well as attacking the slowdown in the construction industry.
The proposed scheme, revealed in the Irish Examiner yesterday, could help bolster a sector that has seen employment fall from 280,000 to 250,000.
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said it was interested in the suggestions for a build-and-lease schools plan.
The industry would certainly be interested in talking to the minister about any initiative of that nature and would welcome discussions on any proposals with him to ensure progress on the school building programme, said CIF housing and planning director Hubert Fitzpatrick.
Another option being considered by Mr O�Keeffe is the extension of Public Private Partnership (PPP) funding to primary school projects.
The minister has also suggested a number of ways in which savings can be achieved by his own department, and through schools being given responsibility for their own projects through a devolved grants scheme. He is insisting that architects reduce their fees for school projects and that boards of management seek more competitive prices in light of the building slowdown.
Mr O'Keeffe said it would be well into the new year before any decision would be made on third-level fees. He said he had been very encouraged by the high level of debate and it was a debate well worth having.
School ordered to enrol special needs children, court told
- Published: 11 September 2008
THE DEPARTMENT of Education has issued separate orders to a primary school compelling it to accept two children with special needs when it has only one place available, the High Court has been told.
The board of the school in the southeast has taken judicial review proceedings over decisions made by the secretary general of the department requiring the school to accept two boys, both of whom are autistic.
Earlier this year, parents of a 10- year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, who was fourth on a waiting list for a place at the school, which provides specialist education for autistic children, were informed that there was no place available for him.
The parents appealed this to a committee established under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.
Under the Act, the committee considers appeals in relation to children who have been expelled or suspended from a school as well as those whose enrolment applications have been refused.
Following the committee's recommendation that the positioning of the 10-year-old child on the waiting list was unreasonable, the Department of Education ordered the school to enrol him.
The parents of a four-year-old child, who had been at the top of the waiting list and had been offered a place at the school, were then told that their child could not start at the school.
They also made a section 29 appeal, which was heard by a committee made up of different people to those who had heard the appeal brought by the 10-year-old's family. That action also resulted in the department making an order compelling the school to enrol the four-year-old.
In its proceedings, the board is seeking orders from the court to quash the department's decisions ordering the school to enrol the boys. It is further seeking orders that the section 29 committee had no jurisdiction to entertain the appeals and had acted in breach of natural and constitutional justice.
It claims the school had not refused to enrol the 10-year-old, but had acted within its enrolment policy. It further claims that the appeals committee is not entitled to disregard the school's enrolment policy.
Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said this was "a catch-22 situation" in light of the "conflicting orders" that the school had received. He adjourned the matter to Tuesday and said the court was prepared to clarify matters and give judgment on the application for a stay if necessary.
Amount spent on education falls to third worst in EU
- Published: 10 September 2008
Irish Independent
By John Walshe Education Editor
The share of our national wealth spent on education has dropped to the third lowest in Europe, new figures show.
Even before new cutbacks ordered by the Government, a major report reveals the percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) allocated to education has fallen sharply. Only Greece and the Slovak Republic spend less within the EU.
Mexico and Chile actually spend a higher percentage of GDP on education than we do, according to figures in the latest 'Education at a Glance' survey from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
It shows that educational spending in Ireland as a percentage of GDP fell from 5.2pc in 1995 to 4.6pc a decade later. However, the picture is complicated by the fact that GDP in Ireland increased significantly as exports grew over that period and are included in the GDP benchmark.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report also:
l Gives a clear hint that tuition fees should return to higher education.
l Confirms that primary school class sizes in Ireland are still among the highest in Europe.
l Shows that the gender gap in educational attainment by females is widening.
l Reveals that we are one of the few OECD countries that has a national exam but does not publish league tables of results
l Some 82pc of 25-34 year olds in Ireland have completed upper secondary education compared to 78pc across the OECD.
Last night, Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe vigorously defended the Government's record. He said his department's spending had increased by 21pc between 2005 and 2007 -- up from €7bn to €8.4bn. The minister said the official Irish figures for 2005 differed from those published by OECD for a number of reasons, including different types of expenditure such as capital funding.
But teacher unions were unhappy with the explanation.
Peter MacMenamin, Teachers' Union of Ireland general secretary, said OECD's figures showed the Government had failed to invest in any strategic and meaningful manner when we enjoyed budget surpluses.
Curtailment
"Now with this self-generated need for budgetary constraint the Government has embarked on a mission of curtailment, hitting education services across the board with a significant blow. Cutbacks of the magnitude proposed will not just prevent further improvement but will negate many of the achievements to date."
Mr MacMenamin said that in relation to lifelong learning and workplace initiatives, it was worrying in the extreme that the report showed that ratio of hours spent in job-related training in Ireland was just 12pc, compared to the OECD average of 25pc. "This is an indictment of the Government's complete lack of commitment to the lifelong learning programme," he claimed.
ASTI General Secretary John White said the under-funding of our education system could not continue. "While Ireland's second-level education service is performing very well, the Government's stated objective of developing Ireland as a knowledge economy is only achieveable if we have adequately funded schools. Concerns about uptake of science and mathematics cannot be adequately addressed by a cash-starved system."
John Carr, INTO general secretary, said the latest report had shown that spending on education in Ireland had increased by more than 80pc between 1995 and 2005, but GDP more than doubled.
Education spend lags in OECD report
- Published: 10 September 2008
Seán Flynn and Gráinne Faller
IRELAND IS close to the bottom of the international league table on education spending relative to the country's economic wealth, according to an authoritative OECD report published today.
The report - which highlights relative underinvestment in many key education areas in the Republic - will intensify the pressure on the Government to hold off on any fresh round of education cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget.
The Education at a Glance 2008 report shows Ireland coming 27th out of 29 countries when it comes to the amount of GDP per capita invested in each second-level student. The report also shows that spending on education increased by more than 80 per cent between 1995 and 2005, but GDP more than doubled.
In Ireland, the proportion of GDP spent on education decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point or more between 1995 and 2005, mainly as a result of the fall in spending on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP.
The proportion of Ireland's GDP invested in education has dropped significantly from 5.2 per cent in 1995 to 4.6 per cent in 2005. The current OECD average for the proportion of GDP invested in education is 5.8 per cent. The report also reveals:
Overall, Ireland ranks 30th out of 34 countries in terms of education expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
Only six out of 30 OECD countries have a worse pupil-teacher ratio at second level than Ireland.
Only two countries, Greece and the Slovak Republic, invest less as a percentage of GDP in education than Ireland.
Irish primary schools have 24.5 pupils per class - the second largest of the EU countries surveyed.
On average, there are four more pupils in Irish classes than in other EU countries.
Last night, Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe said education spending has increased by 21 per cent between 2005 and 2007.
The department also pointed to some good news in the report.
The number of science graduates, for example, was the fourth highest of any OECD country.
John Carr, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, called for a Government initiative to reduce the size of overcrowded classes.
"Since 2002, primary schools have been waiting for Government action on class sizes.
"The fact that Ireland continues to have the second highest classes in the EU shows the lack of progress on the issue."
ASTI general secretary John White said: "While Ireland's second-level education service is performing very well - as reaffirmed by the OECD PISA surveys - the Government's stated objective of developing Ireland as a knowledge economy is only achievable if we have adequately funded schools. The concerns about the uptake of science and mathematics cannot be adequately addressed by a cash-starved system.
"We are failing to invest properly in our future. In order for Ireland to maintain its economic health, particularly in light of the international economic downturn, it is essential that investment in education is prioritised," he concluded.
Peter MacMenamin, general secretary of the TUI, said these figures showed the Government has shamefully failed to invest in any strategic and meaningful manner when we were enjoying economic progress and budget surpluses.
"Now with this self-generated need for budgetary constraint, the Government has embarked on a mission of curtailment, hitting education services across the board with a significant blow. Cutbacks of the magnitude proposed will not just prevent further improvement but will negate many of the achievements to date."
