Online debate over Education Minister’s stance on Irish language
December 12, 2012
Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn today has said that the amount of time spent on the teaching of Irish and religion in primary schools is an issue of concern.
The statement has prompted debate online once again over the status of the Irish language in the education system with many Irish language speakers responding on Facebook and Twitter to the remarks.
According to a report published on the Irish Examiner and Breaking News websites today, the Minister is quoted as saying “the official time allocation for religion and Irish is high relative to other subjects. Am I personally concerned by that? Yes I am. But this is a choice that parents and teachers and the patrons of schools have to make.”
A recent international study has found that while Ireland’s level of reading, maths and science skills is above average, the country’s schools failed to make it on to the list of top schools.
The subject became a hot topic during the 2011 general election when the Labour Party, among others, came out against Fine Gael’s proposal to remove Irish as a core Leaving Certificate subject, a proposal which was later abandoned.
Minister Ruairí Quinn has said that he believes too much time is spent on the teaching of Irish and Religion, and he has expressed the same views since becoming Minister for Education. The Minister raised the question of time spent on Irish and religion in April and claimed at the time that the subject would need to be reconsidered id literacy and numeracy skills are to improve.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
