Sir, – Brian Mooney asks, with the recent election manifestos of the main political parties putting an emphasis on boosting funding for education, what will the new government be able to deliver? (“Six key issues facing the next minister for education”, Education, December 3rd).
The recent analysis by Dr Brian Fleming and Prof Judith Harford of the stances taken by various parties in their manifestos on teacher supply and educational disadvantage is a must-read in this regard (“Political party manifestos lack ambition to tackle teacher supply crisis”, Education, Opinion, November 26th). They noted that the issue of teacher supply received fairly limited attention in the various party manifestos, and none at all in the case of some. While there may be some reason for very cautious optimism in relation to educational disadvantage, the commitments in general lacked detail.
Brian Mooney also identifies both these issues as well as early childhood care and education, Leaving Cert reform, Gaelcholáistí and third-level funding as key issues for the next minister for education and correctly asserts that the transformative power of education will be key to the most pressing challenges facing society.
However, it is the transformative power of effective school leadership that will lead the necessary changes to deal with these challenges and there is an urgent need for increased supports for school leadership.
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In the recent budget, there was no provision for reducing administrative workloads for principals, no new funding for additional deputy principals and no specific measures to address the growing strain on school leaders who are struggling to manage under-resourced systems.
This is despite the looming crisis in the sustainability of the current school leadership model and in spite of the number of recent authoritative reports attesting to this.
The education system relies heavily on school leaders to lead and implement change and mandated reform, at both school and system levels. School leadership is a critical part of the investment formula for our schools yet has been neglected for many years.
A crisis is looming.
The new minister needs to take note and do something. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McHUGH,
Principal,
Ardscoil Rís,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Brian Mooney identifies six key issues facing the next minister for education and he is spot on, as usual. I would add one more, however, for a minister for education really concerned with equality, or at least with slowing the destructive polarisation of schools between those that have access to parental resources and those that don’t, and that is school management.
The management of schools is contributing significantly to the increasing inequalities between schools and has to do with capitation, one of the key issues correctly identified by Brian Mooney.
In a densely populated area of Dublin with which I am familiar, the Catholic Church manages six primary schools within a three-kilometre radius. Capitation funding means that some of these schools, those with large old buildings but smaller enrolment, cannot pay their utility bills. These bills may, in fact, be the same as the next school which has three times the number of pupils and, of course, three times the capitation. As a result, and despite strenuous fundraising efforts by staff and parents, one school will look, feel and be significantly poorer than the one just down the road. Among other factors, parents make choices on the appearance of the building, the resources evident in use. They have just a 15-minute walk to a “better” school. Many parents are not making a choice based on religious ethos and, indeed, they are not afforded that choice.
The thorny issue of divestment is another I would add to Brian Mooney’s list for the next minister of education. Let them put it in their pouch and seal it. – Yours, etc,
ANNE McCLUSKEY,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.