Múinteoir Gaeilge le Fraincís nó Tíreolaíocht
July 9, 2012
Saving the Gaeltacht
July 9, 2012
A chara, – Your editorial on the plight of the Gaeltacht (June 25th) appeared in the wake of a specially convened congress held in Dublin on June 23rd and organised by the INTO to ballot members on a strategy to support the plight of small schools.
Changes to the staffing schedule for schools with four teachers or fewer, introduced by this Government in its December budget, have been seen by many communities as a threat to the future well-being and viability of their local schools.
Schools that serve the Gaeltacht communities are most at risk. One of the speakers at the congress spoke of her frustration and sadness as she locked the doors of her Donegal Gaeltacht school for the final time last week. The pupils in that school will complete their primary education in a neighbouring school in which Irish is not the primary language of instruction.
This situation is replicated in many Gaeltacht communities. The long-term effect of these closures will be detrimental to both the language and culture of this island. At a time when Irish is being studied by students in university campuses throughout the world, could we as a nation live with the shame of letting it become a “dead language” here at home?
Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.
– Is mise,
Colin Quigley, Steeple Manor, Trim, Co Meath.
www.irishtimes.com
EU investment bank to lend State €100m for schools
July 9, 2012
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he hopes the European Investment Bank will commit ¤1 billion a year to Ireland in future, following the announcement of a €100 million loan for school buildings.
EIB president Werner Hoyer, who met a series of senior Government figures in Dublin yesterday, said the money for the school-building programme would make a “small but not insignificant contribution” to job creation here.
The EIB is the European Union’s bank and its shareholders are the 27 member states, which have jointly subscribed its capital. Mr Noonan said the bank had provided Ireland with very significant investment funding in the past and he hoped that could be expanded.
“At present they’re committed to about a half a billion a year, if you could get it flowing freely, and over a period of time that adds up. If we could double that it would have an impact on the infrastructure, it would make our economy more productive and it would lead to the kind of job creation we need,” he said.
The “confidence-building” impact of the investment in school buildings should not be underestimated at a time when people were “beginning to feel a little better about the economy”, he added.
“If there’s a lot of schools being built all over the country you have activity again in the towns and villages, and it’s activity that people can identify with because it’s the schools their kids will be attending,” he said.
Mr Hoyer, speaking after a meeting with Mr Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday morning, said the EIB was committed to building on its strong partnership with Ireland. Mr Hoyer said he thought the school-building projects could begin quickly.
“Most of these things can be done immediately because the need is there,” he said.
Mr Howlin said the Government was anxious to secure cofunding of school buildings and the education sphere generally, as well as roads and other infrastructure. “What’s announced today is extremely important in and of itself but it’s part of, I hope, a series of much bigger announcements,” he said.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny later said the European Council decision last week had allowed for a further “injection” of finance into the EIB, “which leverages up extra finance for budgets that are economically viable and sustainable”.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said the €100 million loan would support his department’s capital investment programme. He announced details in March of 275 school- building projects worth €1.5 billion to begin by 2016. The EIB loan would assist in funding this investment, he said.
The loan will be used in the construction and upgrading of 35 primary and 12 second-level schools around the country, with construction work expected to be finished by 2014.
Mr Quinn said the loan would prove “immensely beneficial” in enabling implementation of the programme in the most cost-effective manner for the taxpayer.
The loan will be managed by the National Treasury Management Agency on behalf of the State.
www.irishtimes.com
New Gaeltacht Placement – Tréimhse Foghlama sa Ghaeltacht
July 9, 2012
At its meeting on 28 May 2012, the Council approved a report which sets out a series of changes in relation to the Gaeltacht placement, as undertaken by student teachers (primary).
The report arose from the Council’s new accreditation criteria, published in June 2011, (Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers), which provide, inter alia, for “an extended and reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which will now form part of the overall programme and be under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers.” It has been developed having regard to the Council’s “three I’s” of innovation, integration and improvement, and it will be a reference point for the Council when reviewing programmes of initial teacher education for professional accreditation purposes.
Among other things, the report provides for:
- a new name for the Gaeltacht Placement – the “Tréimhse Foghlama sa Ghaeltacht”
- the placement duration to be extended to four weeks, to take place in two blocks of two weeks
- greater collaboration between HEIs and Gaeltacht colleges in designing courses and in monitoring student teachers’ attendance
- a common course content across all HEIs, to be adapted to cater for students of different levels of linguistic competency, with specific provision made for the needs of native and of other highly competent speakers assessment of student teachers’ learning during the Tréimhse based on agreed learning outcomes
- courses being delivered by primary school teachers, insofar as possible quality assurance of the Gaeltacht courses.
The report also makes a number of other recommendations in relation to teachers’ competence in Irish throughout their career.
In adopting the report, the Council also adopted the following motion:
“The Council calls on the Department of Education and Skills to set up a programme of financial support for student teachers, targeted at those in most need, to facilitate their participation in the Gaeltacht placement programme. This is a required element of programmes of initial teacher education (primary) and, as such, is a necessary condition for registration. Irish is our first national language, and is a core subject in the Primary School Curriculum. In these contexts, and in light of the emphasis on widening access to third level, we feel that such a programme of financial support would be both innovative and socially progressive.”
The views of Council, as expressed in the above motion, have since been formally conveyed to the Minister for Education and Skills.
Click here to download the report
Teachingcouncil.ie
Scléip 2012 on Raidió na Gaeltachta
July 6, 2012
Raven Productions and Raidió na Gaeltachta recorded the regional heats and final of Scléip 2012 and broadcast the programmes on the dates below:
- Leinster Heat: 9th June 9.00 am
- Munster Heat: 16th June 9.00 am
- Ulster Heat: 23rd June 9.00 am
- Connaught Heat: 30th June 9.00 am
- Final: 7th July 9.00 am
Did you miss Scléip on Raidió na Gaeltachta? Listen back to the programme online!
Congratulations again to the winners and their schools and many thanks to Fiachna Ó Braonáin and his team at Raven Productions who recorded the competition this year on behalf of Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Grúpa nua tuistí agus leanaí bunaithe i gCeatharlach
July 5, 2012
Folúntas: Iúil 2012: Oifigeach Gaeilge in Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath, Post páirtaimseartha chun tréimhse saoire mháithreachais a chlúdach
July 4, 2012
Deireadh le samhail
July 4, 2012
Múinteoir Gaelscoile
July 4, 2012
Cúntóir riachtanas speisialta
July 4, 2012
