THE ANNUAL teacher conferences which begin today come after a challenging year for Irish education. Late last year, the complacency which had settled on the education system was shattered by the results of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment survey on attainment levels among 15 year olds. The results for Ireland could scarcely have been bleaker.
On reading levels, Ireland slipped from fifth place in 2000 to 17th place, the sharpest decline among the 39 countries surveyed. In maths, Ireland dropped from 16th to 26th place, the second steepest decline among participating countries. Ireland is ranked as below average in maths and only as average in science.
Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, is right to describe the OECD results as a “wake up call ’’ for Irish education.
Some in the teaching unions have sought to downplay their importance, claiming the influx of immigrant children and the mainstreaming of special needs pupils explain the decline in standards. But these claims do not stand up to scrutiny. The reality is that Ireland enjoyed a built-in advantage in previous OECD surveys carried out at a time when there were few immigrants in the State. When the pitch was levelled the Irish education system performed poorly; those familiar claims about our “world class’’ education system were seen to be exaggerated.
During his first five weeks in office, Mr Quinn has pushed the issue of educational standards to the top of a busy agenda. New initiatives are planned to raise literacy and numeracy levels, to update and remodel teacher education and to reform the Junior Cert exams. Whereas some of his predecessors acted as cheerleaders for the Irish education system, Mr Quinn has not been afraid to highlight its deficiencies.
Encouragingly, the teacher unions appear ready to support his efforts to transform Irish education. Pat King, the ASTI general secretary, says he shares the Minister’s concern about falling standards and is “up for educational reform.’’ Sheila Nunan, his counterpart in the INTO, is also constructive and open-minded in her approach. It all means that Mr Quinn has a once-in-a -generation opportunity to transform the system.
In his address to INTO members tonight, the Minister is expected to underline the seriousness of the economic crisis facing the State. This will be his core message at all three teacher conferences this week. He has already signalled to the teacher unions that he will not entertain any special pleading on resources, as the State cupboard is bare. It is good to hear this kind of straight talking from an education minister.
But there is one area in which some flexibility is required. The cuts to Traveller education and the threatened cuts to special needs teaching, while achieving relatively little in savings, will hurt some of the most vulnerable and needy pupils. These cuts were pushed through or planned by the previous administration; the new Government must be more generous.