Gaelscoileanna ‘apartheid’
October 25, 2012
Sir, In the “To Be Honest” column by a parent ( Education Today, October 23rd), a link is made, in the headline no less, between Irish-language education and “educational apartheid”.
Gaeloideachas is not in any way offered to people by dint of an accident of birth, but rather is open to anyone in this State who wishes to do so, based almost exclusively on a first-come, first-served basis.
That this system is often cynically manipulated in a self-serving manner by people seeking to give their children some perceived “better start” in life is not the fault of the State, or the system, nor is it deserving of the type of hyperbole inherent in the “apartheid” assertion.
This sort of unnecessarily emotive comparison is not worthy of a place in your newspaper, and it would give cause to wonder if a little more time spent listening in a school educating through any linguistic medium might perhaps have served the anonymous author better in the long run.
– Yours, etc,
Conchubhair Mac Lochlainn
East Road, Dublin 3.
A Chara,
Oh, God! Why does The Irish Times allow such badly researched opinion pieces about Gaelscoileanna? Once or twice a year your newspaper trots out some elephant to trample on the blossoming flowerbed of Gaelicmedium education.
“Gaelscoileanna are getting away with the worst kind of language apartheid.” At least 99 per cent of the pupils who attend Gaelscoileanna are bilingual by the end of the primary cycle. It is the English-medium primary schools that are guilty of language apartheid by allowing pupils to continue through the education cycle badly instructed in Gaeilge (one of the three core subjects). By producing an annual bilingual figure of less than 10 per cent, English-medium primary schools are putting pupils at an immediate disadvantage when beginning the secondary cycle.
“The language puts up a natural force-field that deflects students from various constituencies.” Gaelscoileanna operate an openarms policy and all constituencies are catered for. In Gaelscoil Chluainín, Co Liatroma, there are 17 nationalities, with all socio-economic groups and learning abilities represented, and this in a school of only 83 pupils.
“Parents are choosing Gaelscoileanna because their children will be educated among citizens from well- to- do backgrounds.” In Dublin alone, children are attending Gaelscoileanna in the predominantly working-class areas of Ballymun, Tallaght, Finglas and Inchicore.
“Gaelcholáistí give preference to children from Gaelscoileanna.” Diligent Dublin parents have had their efforts to establish more Gaelcholáistí continuously thwarted by the Department of Education with the effect that in Dublin there are only 2,000 places available in Gaelcholáistí (secondary), while there are 6,000 places in Gaelscoileanna (primary). This means that many bilingual pupils a year cannot continue their schooling through Irish, thus making it more difficult for children who haven’t yet been taught to spell in Irish to get a place.
The only “shame” attached to education through the medium of Irish is that only a small proportion of children are benefiting from this opportunity.
– Is mise,
Rossa Ó Snodaigh
Mainéar Scríneadh Scrínidh, Cluainín Uí Ruairc, Contae Liatroma.
www.irishtimes.com
