Ireland's education system is remarkable in that in contrast to almost every other Western country, it. lacks an intermediate layer of administration. Decisions, even trivial ones, are often made in a highly entralised manner by the Department of Education, while in other areas schools are allowed great latitude in recognition of their privately-owned status.
Only the 38 Vocational Education Committees, dating back to 1930, fill the gap. Originally established for the sole purpose of providing technical instruction, and for many years the Cinderella of the education system, the VECs have blossomed latterly, by providing services which other bodies were sometimes neglecting - "second chance" education, post-Leaving Certificate courses, training for early school-leavers.
However, the VECs operate only 250 schools, or" about one-quarter of all second-level schools. The" others, and all primary schools - 3,700 schools in all, - deal directly with the Department, which provides most of their funding and regulates the curriculum. This situation is clearly unsatisfactory. The Department is too remote from the day-to-day concerns schools and too under-resourced to service them on a regular basis. A lack of co-ordination between schools outside the VEC structure leads to duplication of some support services and the absence of others. The introduction of greater choice, be it in the form of extra subjects or more multi-denominational schools, is inhibited. In addition, the Department is pinned-down by routine administrative work, when its main focus should be on improving quality in education.
Meanwhile, the school population is set to start falling steeply. The report published recently for the Committee on School Accommodation Needs says 95,000 fewer pupils will be enrolled in second-level schools by the year 2026, a drop of 23 per cent over present levels. if anything, the fall in the primary school population will be even greater. And the decline will be even more dramatic in rural areas, reaching 40 per cent in counties Roscommon, Longford and Leitrim.
The combination of these factors points to the need for reorganising the administration of education imminent population decline makes this task an urgent one. The Minister for Education's proposal, formulated after several years of consultation, is to establish 10 regional authorities, along the lines of the health boards, to co-ordinate education services for all schools in their areas. The VECs would continue to exist, but, their number would be reduced last week's report said 20 of the 38 committees should be closed down.
Criticism of the proposed boards has been voiced by, many groups, even those who favour the idea in principle. Yet Ms Breathnach says she will press ahead with the publication of legislation to set them up, probably in the autumn. This stance seems unwise, far better if the Minister listened to the criticisms, and thought again. In the meantime, there is a clear case for abolishing or merging the smallest VECs.