Sir, – The patronage system for education, regardless of what organisation is given the benefit of it, is anachronistic and totally inappropriate for a modern state.
It might have been just about acceptable in the days when those in power had no regard for general education, when the ruling elites were content to have their own children, mainly their sons, educated, and then leave it at that as far as the rest of the population was concerned.
They would never have dreamed of giving the army, the police, the legal system, or any of the other functions of the state, to a patron. It is nothing short of shameful that the Irish Government of today, which is supposed to preside over the operation of a democratic republic, still holds general education in such low esteem. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
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Windy Arbour,
Dublin 14.