The principle that teachers and parents should be represented on all boards of management for comprehensive schools has been accepted by all parties involved in the discussions, the Minister for Education announced yesterday.
The statement was immediately welcomed by the Teachers' Union of Ireland and the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland.
In his statement, Mr Martin said significant progress had been made towards setting up comprehensive school boards which included teachers and parents.
He was commenting on the progress of discussions involving Department officials and organisations representing school trustees, teachers and parents. He said comprehensive schools, established from the 1960s, had never had inclusive management boards.
When a final agreement is reached, Mr Martin intends opening discussions between organisations in other sectors of second-level education with a view to forming inclusive boards of management across the system. The ASTI president, Mr John Hurley, welcomed the announcement and also the Minister's intention to open discussions between organisations in other sectors of second-level education.
The deputy general secretary of the TUI, Mr Peter MacMenamin, also welcomed the announcement, saying this was a long-standing aspiration of his union.