LIFE CHANGING is how students on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) who are sitting Leaving Certificate examinations at the Further Education Centre, Abbeyleix, Co Laois, describe their experiences. "I don't see myself changing but my family does," explains 22 year old Barry Kirwan, from Emo, Co Laois. "They say I'm more independantly minded."
Finbarr Daly, 24, from Mountmellick, Co Laois, agrees. "Studying for the Leaving Cert builds up your confidence," he says. "It enables you to form your own opinions and stick to them."
The VTOS is designed to give access to education and training to unemployed people over 21 years of age who have been on the live register for at least six months. The scheme offers a range of programmes including basic education courses, PLC programmes and courses leading to Leaving Cert and NCVA awards in 96 centres around the country. Up to 5,000 people are availing of the programmes nationally and this year 882 VTOS students are sitting Leaving Cert exams.
Talk to mature students and most them will tell you that not having a Leaving Cert leaves you feeling inferior throughout life. When other people put forward points of view you tend to agree with them, believing that because they have Leaving Cert, they must be more knowledgeable and therefore correct in their views.
"I'm amazed at how I've developed," comments mother of two Cheryl Mathews who is 36 years old. "Recently I had a long discussion with my grandfather, who is in his nineties, about Irish history and the Land Acts. I would never have been able to do that before."
Vincent Maher, 27, has been unemployed for seven years. "You change your opinions about yourself," he says. "You think you re no good at certain things, but then you find you are capable."
Some of the Abbeyleix students left school before Leaving Cert, while others left with poor results. They all appreciate the Centre's relaxed atmosphere where they are treated as adults. Coming here is "light years away from going back to school," they stress. For many of the students, school was a bad experience and most of them suffered from streaming.
"I didn't care at school," recalls one woman. "It was easier not to bother." Another remembers: "At school you were put down from day one, but here we are all equal."
Frances Parlon, 23, was in a lower stream at school. "I wasn't allowed to do honours biology even though I wanted to do nursing. But I've proved them wrong. Last year I got a C2 in honours biology."
Ms Parlon has been accepted on to a nursing training course in England. "For me education used to be about being forced to go to school and you'd use every excuse not to go. But now you'd feel guilty if you missed a day."
A major difference between school and the centre is the level of interest displayed by the students. "In class you can hear a pin drop," says Cheryl Mathews. "Everyone's hanging on every word."
STUDENTS regularly find themselves spending their canteen breaks discussing issues raised in class. This is something they would never have done in school, they say.
Students who have been out of the education system for years admit that settling back into study can be difficult. Women with family commitments find it particularly hard. "I have a husband, three children and a mother in law to care for," says Marcella Delahunty. "Time is limited and I can never start studying till nine or ten o'clock at night when all the chores are done."
The VTOS students say that they have realised that it is impossible to obtain a Leaving Cert unless you work hard. "You really do have to study," they say. "At least three hours every evening."
Often students who opt to return to education have to contend with unsympathetic friends and relatives.
"Some people thought I was wired to the moon wanting to go back at my age," says Ms Delahunty, who is 45 years of age. "Other people thought I was being uppity or just filling in time." However, she now finds that many of her friends would love to come back and sit Leaving Cert.
English and history are among the most poplar subjects studied and at least one student Cheryl Mathews - admits to falling in love with Hamlet.
THE students are enthusiastic about the teaching style at the centre. "Here there are only about seven or eight in each class," says Barry Kirwan, "so you get a lot of individual attention. They treat us as equals and we can say what we think without being ridiculed."
At school, Vincent Maher recalls, maths were very difficult. "But I've found it far easier here. The teaching methods made it easier to grasp." The students are grateful that teachers ensure that students are fully conversant with a topic before they move on.
The Abbeyleix students are full of praise for the scheme and heartily recommend it. "Nobody should go without a basic Leaving Cert," they say. "There's a lot of unemployed people out there who could take time out to work for Leaving Cert."
Asked to encapsulate in a few words their feelings about returning to learning, Frances Parlon suggests "education is the future." Barry Kirwan offers "living to learn and learning to live." Who could put it betterf!