Parents criticise Minister for change to school transport [IrishTimes]
- Published: 29 June 2011
A GROUP of parents who hosted a public meeting in Listowel, Co Kerry, about changes to the school transport system yesterday expressed their anger at the attitude of Minister of State at the Department of Education Ciarán Cannon.
Mr Cannon, who had attended the meeting, has refused to row back on the proposals for the service brought in by the previous government.
A series of meetings around the country is now planned, with the first to take place in Galway on July 11th, a spokeswoman for a group of primary school parents said yesterday. At the public meeting in Listowel on Monday night, attended by 400 parents drawn from west Waterford, west Cork, south Kerry, and Limerick, the Minister said he could not row back on the proposals. He said the cost of the school transport system amounted to €180 million, or €1 million per school day.
Bus Éireann runs the school transport system on behalf of the Department of Education, using local contractors mainly.
The changes on foot of the last budget include a €50 charge per primary school child, up to a maximum of €110 per family. The cost for secondary school children will rise to a maximum of €650 per family.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
SNAs vow ‘summer of discontent’ [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 29 June 2011
ANGRY special needs assistants (SNAs) and parents of children with special needs in Cork have promised a "summer of discontent".
The National Council for Special Education wrote to hundreds of schools last week informing them of cuts to their SNA allowance for the next school year.
More than 100 people attended a public meeting in the Metropole Hotel in Cork last night to voice anger at the cuts.
Co-chairwoman Roisín O’Mahony, an SNA and parent of a child with ADHD, said it was time for people to come together and tell the Government "enough is enough".
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Quinn to ask for school property [Independent.ie]
- Published: 29 June 2011
EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn is set to ask the religious orders to hand over more school property to the State to reduce the cost of compensating abuse survivors.
The State has spent around €1.3bn on compensating those who were abused in industrial schools run by the Catholic orders. But so far, the religious orders who ran the schools have only agreed to provide around €476m worth of compensation.
Mr Quinn got the approval yesterday to go ahead with legislation needed in the wake of the Ryan Report.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Students fare better reading from screen than paper [Independent.ie]
- Published: 29 June 2011
IRISH teenagers perform better in computer-based reading tests rather than those involving the printed word.
They are significantly above average in an international digital literacy league, after a test of their comprehension of texts such as emails and web pages.
But Education Minister Ruairi Quinn admitted yesterday that there was still cause for concern about reading standards among Irish 15 year olds.
Mr Quinn said: "A decline has occurred in reading standards in Ireland over the last decade."
Experts at the Educational Research Centre (ERC) in Drumcondra, Dublin, are studying the results of a new survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and trying to understand why students did better on the digital test than on the pencil and paper test.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Popular teacher Louise steps down [enniscorthyguardian.ie]
- Published: 28 June 2011
POPULAR primary teacher Louise Doyle steps down today (Tuesday, June 28) after taking her final class at Glenbrien national school. The retiring member of staff is believed to be the longest serving member of staff ever to have worked in the school.
A farewell function was held in the school last week where presentations were made by the board of management, the parents' association and the parish.
Among the gifts received was a unique marble and granite creation by sculptor Ciaran O'Brien and an album with photographs and other mementoes of her career, including a list of all the children she taught during her 33 years in Glenbrien.
Full Story: www.enniscorthyguardian.ie
