Quinn urged not to increase fees [IrishTimes]
- Published: 16 August 2011
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has been urged not to consider another increase in the student registration fee.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said a further increase in the cost of the student registration fee would mean that many thousands of students would be unable to attend third-level education.
The move comes after Mr Quinn voiced his opposition to a student loan system in which graduates would repay the State for the cost of their education.
The Government is now expected to raise the cost of the student registration fee from €2,000 in 2012, despite the fact that it is already being increasing by €500 this year.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Schools forcing families to pay more for uniforms [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 August 2011
TENS of thousands of families are facing huge differences in what they pay for children's uniforms ahead of the new school year, an Irish Independent survey has found.
Cash-strapped parents are being forced by four out of every five schools to purchase their children's uniforms in designated shops.
The back-to-school costs soar when primary schools insist on maintaining the same standard of clothing across the board.
The survey, published today, also reveals a major difference in the price of school uniforms sold in supermarkets compared to department stores.
Our study concentrated on two supermarkets -- Dunnes Stores and Tesco; two department stores -- Debenham's and Arnotts; and traditional stores in the west and midlands, sold through www.irishschool wear.com
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Costs begin to spiral as children get older [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 August 2011
BACK-to-school costs spiral as a child gets older -- as Larissa Anderson knows only too well.
The 38-year-old special needs assistant and her husband, David Anderson (42), a self-employed welder, fork out almost twice as much for their nine-year-old son's return to school than for his little sister.
The couple, who live in Killeven near Clones in Co Monaghan with their two children Finn (9) and Ruby (5), have had to budget carefully this summer.
Finn's uniform is more expensive than senior infant Ruby.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Freeze on career advisers to remain [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 August 2011
THE Department of Education will not appoint any more guidance counsellors, despite half of Leaving Certificate students saying they felt "overwhelmed" when making life-changing decisions.
Guidance counsellors, who each have the responsibility for advising close to 500 school pupils, deal with twice the number of students they did in the 1980s -- a ratio described as "totally inadequate" by the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC).
A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute carried out for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment found almost four out of five sixth-year students would have liked more information before making college and career choices. And around half said they felt "overwhelmed" when it came to making decisions that would affect the rest of their lives.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Literacy drive under threat, laureate warns [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 August 2011
SCHOOL libraries are being run down with disastrous results for the most excluded children, the Children's Literature Laureate has warned.
Dr Siobhan Parkinson, renowned children's author and Laureate na nOg, warned that unless primary school libraries were well-stocked with a wide range of books designed to excite children's interest, the Government's literacy programme would fail.
She said the decision by the previous administration to withdraw the schools' library service in 2008 meant that libraries had been run down.
The reason given for the cut was that schools were receiving larger capitation grants and principals could use this to fund the purchase of library books.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
