Peig Sayers for a new generation
June 4, 2013
A chara,
In light of Felicity Hayes McCoy’s disparaging comments towards Peig Sayers (Life, May 20th) I feel obliged to point out that the current generation of NUI Galway final year Gaeilge students informed me during course evaluation that I should have spent more time on Peig Sayers’s works, as they enjoyed her.
A majority of the 150 students chose to include Peig in their exam answers. I observed, particularly among female students, that they connected with Peig’s independent spirit and her belief that people should only marry on the strength of love for one another rather than the strength of a dowry. Her description of the first time she laid eyes on her husband – Pádraig Ó Guithín – led one student to remark, that regardless of the harrows she had suffered in her life she also enjoyed the elations of love, meaning that she truly did live it to the fullest.
I will leave you with Peig’s simple yet beautiful words: “D’fhéachamair féin ar a chéile. Do chonac rud éigin aoibhinn sa bhféachaint sin. Rud éigin a bhí thar thuiscint an duine do mhíniú anso”.
Is mise,
TOMÁS L Ó MURCHÚ,
Áras na Gaeilge,
Ollscoil Éireann,
Gaillimh.
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Fee-paying pupils most likely to go to university
May 7, 2013
Department figures show half of early school leavers stay in education Only 25% of those in schools designated disadvantaged go on to higher education
Two-thirds of students who attend fee-paying secondary schools go on to higher level education, compared to about 40 per cent of students from other school types, new figures from the Department of Education have shown. The figures are based on students who completed post-primary school in 2010. The new data, compiled using detailed analysi s of r ecords held by the department , also reveal that only one quarter of students attending schools that are designated disadvantaged (Deis) went on to higher education in 2010, compared to half of all students from non-Deis schools. More than 57 per cent of pupils attending all-Irish schools enrolled in higher education courses that year.
A separate report on early school leavers has shown that of the 7,713 students who dropped out of school early in 2010, more than half have gone on to further education or training or continued in second-level education programmes such as post-Leaving Certificate courses. A further 14 per cent of early school leavers were enrolled in education or training outside of the State. Some 6 per cent had joined the workforce, while 6.6 per cent had claimed social welfare. The number of students leaving school before completion accounted for 2.5 per cent of the overall cohort in 2010, down from 3.7 per cent in 2002 . It is notable that more girls dropped out of school early than boys in 2010 – 4,023 compared to 3,690 – a trend reflected in data dating back to 2003.This finding runs counter to claims that boys are at higher risk of dropping out before the Leaving Cert.
Also, girls tended to leave post-primary schooling earlier than boys. A quarter (25 per cent) of female early school leavers left after year three of Junior Certificate/ JCSP compared to 21 per cent of boys. Overall, half of all students enrolled in the final year of senior cycle in a State-supported post-primary school in 2010 went directly to higher education. A further 28 per cent progressed to further education, training or continued second-level education. Ten percent took up employment, while 7 per cent made social welfare claims. An estimated 4 per cent enrolled in colleges abroad, with the majority talking up higher education programmes in the UK and Northern Ireland.
This report, entitled School Completers – What Next?, and its companion report Early School Leavers – What Next?, are the first in a series of annual reports by the Department of Education that will track school leavers a year after they leave school.
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Craobh cheoil sa chathair
April 10, 2013
Change in school enrolment policies
April 8, 2013
A chara, – I wish to express my profound shock, disbelief and outrage at one aspect of the proposed changes to school enrolment policies put forward by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn (Home News, April 3rd).
This policy has no place in the 21st century; indeed it was outrageous in the 19th century when it was first introduced. I refer to the proposal to force some Irish-speaking children from Irish-speaking families to attend English-speaking schools. This will happen bec a use under the guidelines Irish language schools will not be permitted to give priority to children from Irish speaking families. Irish-speaking families are a threat ened minorit y in t hi s State, all have made a lifelong commitment to the survival of the language by speaking it every day, and their children, especially at secondary level often travel long distances to their nearest Irish language school.
Like many of today’s policies, it discriminates yet again, disproportionately against rural areas because Irish-speaking families such as ourselves who live in rural Ireland find ourselves outside the catchment areas or feeder schools for existing Irish language secondary schools which are few in number Apart from being oppressive, this policy is clearly absurd, and bizarre. As an Irish-speaking family it seems an act of wanton cruelty to provide such schools and then to deny entry to those of u s who mos t passionately want to make use of them. – Is mise, SÉAMUS Ó DRISCEOIL, Oileán Cléire Co Chorcaí.
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Progress on patronage
April 3, 2013
When Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn took office two years ago he advocated the early establishment of multidenominational and non-denominational national schools in response to dramatic social changes and the exclusion of some immigrant children from Catholic-run schools.
He talked about removing half of all 3,000 primary schools from Catholic Church control. And while a Government advisory group on patronage and pluralism later advised a more gradualist approach, it expected the transfer of school patronage to begin this year. It now appears the process may be delayed until September 2014.
Delay is the great enemy of reform. The longer the delay, the greater the likelihood that political energy will dissipate and minimal change will result. A survey of parents in 38 districts by the Department of Education has found a demand for alternative patronage in 23 instances.
The great majority of those parents favoured patronage by Educate Together, where children learn about different belief systems but religious instruction takes place outside school hours. Vocational Education Committee control was favoured in three instances where multifaith instruction is provided. A spokesman for Catholic Schools Partnership, Fr Micheal Drumm questioned the need for “immediate” change and spoke of a “phased response” by the bishops involved.
Interest groups tend to defend traditional powers. While some bishops are open to change, others are reluctant. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has accepted the need for a reduction in Catholic Church control over education. And he has pointed to census results and falling Mass-attendance figures as reasons for a rethink of traditional church approaches.
Others are more cautious. Society has, however, changed dramatically in recent years because of the number of immigrant families. One in six residents was born outside the State and their children have now to be provided for in traditional, multidenominational or non-denominational schools.
The programme for government regards reform of education as “a priority”. It promises “sufficiently diverse schools to cater for all religions and none” at primary level. After that, it will “move towards a more pluralist system of patronage at second level”.
In giving those commitments, the Government was responding to social pressures and representations from teachers’ unions. The decision to release survey findings at this time and the implicit commitment to establish 23 new schools was, however, politically significant. It did not defuse the anger of teachers over their allowances and conditions or protect Mr Quinn from heckling but it suggested that, if teachers are serious about changes to school patronage, he is the one most likely to deliver.
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Radical change to school enrolment
April 3, 2013
School waiting lists will be curtailed and application fees abolished under a draft Bill to be brought to Government by the Minist er f or Education and Skills.
Practices such as offering preference to children of past pupil s and first-come- first-serve enrolment policies may be banned under the proposals announced by Ruairí Quinn yesterday.
Under the new pr oposal s schools would no longer be permitted to charge parents for application to schools. Non-refundable fees of up to ¤100 are currently charged by s o me post-primary schools, primarily in the fee-paying sector.
Speaking at the annual ASTI conference in Wexford yesterday the Minister described as “insidious” the requirement for children and their parents to attend compulsory open days or be interviewed by schools, and said that these practices will be curtailed.
Enrolling students on a first-come-first-serve basis will al s o be reviewed. While t he practice might appear reasonable, he said, it can mean “that children who move to an area from other parts of the country or from other countries, can be effectively excluded from schools that have more applicants than places”.
In the 20 per cent of schools where demand exceeds supply there was a need for clarity on enrolment, he said.The draft heads of the Education (Admission to School) Bill 2013 will go to Government shortly.
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Survey shows ‘demand for diversity’
April 3, 2013
Educate Together named as preferred choice by majority of parents in study
The results of the recent Department of Education patronage survey were “significant” and “clearly show a demand for diversity”, the chief executive of the multidenominational Educate Together primary school organisation said yesterday.
Twenty-three of the 38 areas of the country surveyed had demonstrated demand for an immediate change in the existing school patronage, the department said in a statement this week. The majority of parents who took part in the survey named Educate Together as their preferred patron.
Educate Together chief exeecutive Paul Rowe said the organisation was “delighted that so many parents across the country want an Educate Together school in their community.
The Forum for Patronage and Pluralism has given parents in these communities the opportunity to express preference for the schools they want. We are honoured that so many communities have put their trust in Educate Together and our educational ethos.” He said the survey results were significant as they clearly showed demand for diversity of school-type existed across the country.
“Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn is to be commended for the forum initiative. It has given parents a real opportunity to choose the type of schools they want for their children’s education.”
The association representing vocational colleges has expressed concern about restrictions placed on patrons to promote their model to parents. The Irish Vocational Education Assocation gave a “qualified welcome” to the survey which found demand for its community national school model in two areas, Carrigaline in Co Cork and Celbridge Co Kildare. The restrictions meant potential patrons could spend €300 promoting themselves to parents in each survey area.
As the VEC’s community national school model was the “newest” available to parents, they needed to “be allowed to promote and advertise their merits, and parents need to be made aware” of it as a choice, association general secretary Michael Moriarty said. The VEC currently operates eight community national schools in the State.
Irish language patron An Foras Pátrúnachta was “delighted” to have been pre-ferred by parents in Birr, Co Offaly where there had been “strong demand” for a Gaelscoil for “quite a while”, general secretary Caoimhín ÓhEaghra said.
However the organisation raised concern about the use of a survey system to cater for a linguistic minority. An Foras Pátrúnachta is patron of 59 primary schools with two more opening next year.
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Catholic patrons welcome schools report
April 2, 2013
There is a “measurable small demand” for change in school patronage in certain areas and parents should have a choice, chairman of the Council for Education of the Irish Bishops’ Conference has said.
Catholic patrons have welcomed the primary school patronage report which showed demand for change from parents in 23 areas. However, attention must be given to the “large majority” of parents who expressed no interest in change, the council chairman Fr Michael Drumm said. He was speaking as a survey on parental preferences for primary school patronage was published today by the Department of Education.
Catholic bishops in 23 areas across the State have six months to provide detailed proposals on how they plan on divesting primary schools of their patronage. Of 23 areas, between 2.2 per cent and 8 per cent of parents with children in school favoured change, the council said. The areas “vary quite a bit”, Fr Drumm said. The report raised the issue of “displacement” of trying to cater for the views of a minority who want change, Fr Drumm said. The problem on the ground was that numbers displaced could be greater than numbers catered for, he said. In Celbridge, Co Kildare, some 100 parents desired a different type of school but the smallest Catholic school was 300 children, he said. It was about getting the “balance right” , he added. Demand for choice was “lower than anticipated” Fr Drumm said. The survey showed a “very strong affirmation” of Catholic schools with no real interest in change from 15 of 38 areas, he said.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said this morning he expected Catholic bishops to cooperate in identifying suitable primary schools for the transfer of patronage. The Department of Education will send surveys to the patrons seeking an initial response after three months and a final response in six months, he said. “I would hope and expect during that period a suitable school will be identified by them within the various towns and arrangements will be made for the orderly transfer of the patronage of that school back to the Department of Education,” Mr Quinn said on RTÉ Radio. Mr Quinn said he expected cooperation from the Catholic Church because patronage had been identified as an issue by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. It was about “parental choice” not a “general election”, Mr Quinn said.
Out of 38 survey areas selected according to specific demographic criteria, 23 have demonstrated demand for “an immediate change in the existing school patronage”, according to a Department of Education statement. The majority of parents who took part in the survey named Educate Together as their preferred patron. Educate Together was “delighted” and “honoured” that many communities had selected them as a preferred patron,chief executive Paul Rowe said in a statement. The results were “significant” and showed “demand for diversity”, he said. He praised the “goodwill” shown by the Catholic bishops to the process.
Co Cork VEC was “delighted” to be the preferred patron chosen by parents in Carrigaline, chief executive Joan Russell said. If Co Cork VEC becomes patron of a Carrigaline school it would be its second primary patronage. It is due to open its first primary school in Mallow next year. “I am aware this is only the first step… and am respectful of existing patrons,” Ms Russell said. The community national school model was “not well known” in Cork so the growth would allow parents to become familiar with it, she said.
Among the 23 schools identified in the report were Dublin 6, Malahide, Palmerstown, Portmarnock, Rush, Tuam, Westport, Ballina, Clonmel, Passage West, Dungarvan, Fermoy, Kells, Killarney, Leixlip, Loughrea, Cobh, Nenagh, New Ross, Shannon, Celbridge and Carrigaline.
One area, Birr in Co Offaly, showed sufficient demand for a Gaelscoil. Several others specified VEC patronage as their preferred option.
There was insufficient demand in areas such as Wicklow, Skerries, Carrick-on-Suir and Roscommon, among others.
The level of demand required to support change was set at the minimum enrolment required for a four-teacher school, somewhere between 80 and 100 pupils. A total of 10,715 valid survey responses were received.
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Union chief wants report on future of schools published
April 2, 2013
Teachers fear over 1,000 schools with fewer than 80 pupils may be under threat
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn was challenged by Irish National Teachers’ Organisation president Anne Fay to publish a report commissioned on primary schools amid growing fears t ha t more t ha n 1 , 000 schools with under 80 pupils or three teachers or fewer may face closure.
Ms Fay told the union’s 145th annual congress that Mr Quinn, who addresses del egates today, should move to publish the Value for Money report commissioned 2½ years ago by the Department of Education on the future of primary schools.
Ms Fa y , who teaches in a three-teacher school in Fermoy, Co Cork, criticised the leaking of some of the report at the weekend. It was reported on Sunday that the viability of more than 600 small schools would be thrown into doubt by the report.
“We got selective leaks of this report to a Sunday newspaper by the Minister, I presume, which I believe shows a lack of respect for parents, teachers and communities all over Ireland. Over a thousand schools now fear for their very existence,” she said. Loud applause Loudly applauded by the 800 delegates in Cork, Ms Fay went on to remind Mr Quinn of the commitment he gave on behalf of the Labour Party when in opposition and just before t he 2011 general election to oppose any forced amalgamation of schools.
“The now Minister for Education and Science wrote on February 15th, 2011, just before the general election: ‘The Labour Party has never supported the forcible amalgamation of rural schools’, another debased pre-election promise to add to what is becoming a very long list.”
Ms Fay said teachers still manage to take great pride in their work despite being anxious and worried about the future and cuts in education and, even when greatly overworked, have the interests of their pupils foremost in their mind. ‘Palpable anger’ “But alongside that pride, I have detected a palpable anger – there is anger at the attitudes of some of our employers, commentators and politicians who seem to think, bizarrely and erroneously, that teaching is an easy life,” she said.
“There is anger at changes to terms and conditions that focus on saving money and not on making the education system better, and anger at investment in education becoming another discredited election promise, not a priority to return Ireland to economic growth and social equality.”
Ms Fay opted not to speak on Croke Park II proposals on pay which are currently being voted on by union members. However, union sources confirmed to The Irish Times that there was a lot of anger voiced at the Croke Park II proposals at a private session.
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Bishops have six months to set out plans for school patronage change
April 2, 2013
Catholic bishops in 23 areas across the State have six months to provide detailed proposals on how they plan on divesting primary schools of their patronage.
The move comes on the publication of a survey on parental preferences for primary school patronage published today by the Department of Education.
Out of 38 survey areas selected according to specific demographic criteria, 23 have demonstrated demand for “an immediate change in the existing school patronage”, according to a Department of Education statement.
Among the 23 were Dublin 6, Malahide, Palmerstown, Portmarnock , Rush, Tuam, Westport, Ballina, Clonmel, Passage West, Dungarvan, Fermoy, Kells, Killarney, Leixlip, Loughrea, Cobh, Nenagh, New Ross, Shannon, Celbridge and Carrigaline.
One area, Birr in Co Offaly, showed sufficient demand for a Gaelscoil. Several others specified VEC patronage as their preferred option. There was insufficient demand in areas such as Wicklow, Skerries, Carrick-on-Suir and Roscommon, among others.
The level of demand required to support change was set at the minimum enrolment required for a four- teacher school, somewhere between 80 and 100 pupils. A total of 10,715 valid survey responses were received.The majority of parents who took part in the survey named Educate Together as their preferred patron.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn said: “We cannot ignore this call for change”. Fr Michael Drumm, chairperson of the Catholic Schools Partnership, said the figures needed closer analysis.
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