A new national consultative process to frame a new agenda for the education system is to be launched shortly by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
The initiative is seen as an attempt to move the debate on the future of the education system beyond what one source called "the usual suspects" - teacher unions and the Department.
Mr Dempsey said last night it was an attempt to frame a new vision for education by giving a much greater role, not just to teachers and educationalists, but also to what he termed the "consumers" of education.
The Minister said he particularly wanted to give a new voice to parents and the disadvantaged. It was no longer good enough to have an education system where the most powerful had the greatest clout. "Ask the parents if they have enough involvement in the education system? Is it not time that we targeted resources at those who need it most?"
The new process replaces Government plans announced two years ago to establish a commission on teaching. As reported in yesterday's Irish Times, this idea has been shelved amid concern that it could become a "talking shop".
Mr Dempsey, who revealed his initiative to delegates at the ASTI conference, said he was still finalising the plan.
He said it would consider a range of issues over a relatively short timeframe. These are expected to include:
The future of the Leaving Certificate and assessment in schools
Measurement and evaluation of the work of teachers and of the education system
The need to ensure the education system responds to the needs of the wider society
The Minister said the education system had only "scratched the surface" of the IT revolution.
"Are we content to allow a blanket one-size-fits-all approach to education when different sectors of society, especially the disadvantaged have much greater need?" he asked.
The consultative process would try to create an agreed vision. It was essential to get the providers and the recipients of education working together. Every group needed to concentrate on the needs of others instead of their own agenda.
Mr Dempsey said the new process would avoid dealing with industrial relations, although it is not clear how this could be done if it strays into the areas of teachers' pay and conditions.
His address drew polite applause from delegates at the ASTI conference but his plans for more scrutiny of teachers is bound to cause alarm in the union, which has been suspicious of greater inspection.
In a challenging address Mr Dempsey told delegates: "The pace of change can be excessively slow and sometimes the lowest common denominator prevails. We have had a tendency over the years of disagreement rather than confronting and dealing with what needs to be done."
The Minister's plan for a new consultative process is bound to unsettle many in the education sector, especially groups who have responsibility for areas such as curriculum change and disadvantage. He said specific groups would continue to do specific tasks but a new approach was needed to frame a vision for education.
Dempsey booed and heckled by teachers: page 6; A long and bitter chapter at an end: page 7