IPPN

Published: 22 September 2005

A delegation from the Irish Primary Principals Network called today (22nd September) at a hearing of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science for a radical overhaul of Primary School Boards of Management. The IPPN asked the Committee to recommend in it's report that an independent review body be established by the Minister for Education and Science.

IPPN's Sean Cottrell said 'The system we have was established 30 years ago. It was designed for a different era and needs to be urgently reviewed. Boards are not properly equipped with the necessary skills, expertise or training to operate effectively. Boards have to operate in a completely new and ever more regulated environment. There are now more than seven new pieces of legislation in the Education arena. There have been a whole series of new initiatives form Special Needs to ICT. There has been a marked decline in the role of religious orders, a dearth of volunteers and parents and members of the community are literally being press ganged on to boards. We need properly structured boards who have the knowledge and the expertise to fulfil their remit. Otherwise there is a danger that boards become principal and teacher led rather than a proper system of governance for schools. It is unfair, unreasonable and irresponsible to place volunteers in a role where they are asked to make important decisions affecting the education of children without the necessary training and backup. This is the reaction of many parents and community representatives who discover what is required of them having been coerced into serving on a board of management.'

Mr Cottrell added that 'All Schools have a board of eight regardless of size. It is unrealistic to demand that a three-teacher school have an eight-person board. We are suggesting that there be joint boards for clusters of small schools. We are also suggesting that boards of management should continue to have representation on interview panels. However the de facto employer of teachers, the Department of Education and Science, become the employer in law also. We also believe that a stand alone support unit be established and funded by the DES to assist boards with expertise such as financial or legal when necessary. We believe that there is an urgent need for more extensive training to be made available to all newly elected members of school boards. There should also be a system that also allows for continuity without the entire board having to be replaced at the same time.'

Mr Cottrell compared the present system of school boards as equivalent to harnessing a team of loyal Clydesdales to a forty foot trailer and asking them to negotiate their way safely home along a four lane motorway.