Better qualified than their male counterparts, women in Ireland earn less, are grossly under-represented in politics, and barely register in engineering, manufacturing and construction, according to recently published data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Boys are more likely to leave school early, while females are more qualified, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

PRINCIPALS have called for an overhaul of how primary school boards are structured as figures show that almost half are still chaired by priest or other religious person.

THE Department of Education has received applications from eight groups to be patrons of 13 new primary schools due to open in the next two years.

DOZENS of school building projects needed to help match demand with the recent baby boom could be delivered faster after being handed over to Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

ALL Vocational Education Committees (VECs) are to be reminded that teachers and other staff involved in purchasing must declare any business interests after irregularities were discovered at a Cork college.

STUDENTS at risk of dropping out of school and low-skilled job seekers are losing out on vital supports because of unfilled vacancies, the body representing Vocational Education Committees (VECs) has claimed.

MORE than 3,300 college applicants are getting good news with the offer of a course from the Central Applications Office (CAO) today.

DOZENS of support staff in Vocational Education Committees (VECs) may have to be moved to other areas of the public sector next year to help meet staffing reduction targets.

THE property market and the need for legal changes mean most of the estimated €3 million in annual savings from halving the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) might not be reaped for a number of years.

PEOPLE out of work who resist returning to further education or participating in community employment schemes will suffer financial consequences, according to the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn.

THE chief executives of the 33 Vocational Education Committees (VECs) are understood to be deeply divided on a redeployment scheme planned by the Government when the number of bodies is more than halved.

The Government has approved a revised reconfiguration of the Vocational Education Committees (VEC) system, reducing the total number of VECs from 33 to 16, it was announced today.

SCHOOLS face tough laws preventing them from giving work to retired teachers as it has emerged that more than 1,200 pensioners have been brought into classes as substitutes, instead of unemployed graduates, since September.

THE transfer of some primary schools from the patronage of the Catholic hierarchy faces inevitable opposition but it is time for movement, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said last night.

TEACHERS’ pay and pensions cost €45 million more than expected last year despite Government efforts to cut costs in the public service.

SCHOOLS may open earlier than planned in January to make up for days lost because of bad weather.

DATA protection laws may prevent councils with backlogs of student grant applications from having them cleared by other local authorities, TDs have been told.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) is set to enter talks on the Croke Park public service pay agreement after members have voted to lift industrial action in schools and colleges.

RECENT speculation on education cutbacks and extra student charges have caused a raft of criticism for the Government, and the Green Party in particular.

THE Government is considering raising student registration charges again to achieve savings in the near €9 billion education budget.

LOCAL education services face annihilation under plans by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan to more than halve the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs), staff representatives are warning.

THE heads of the country’s Vocational Education Committees (VECs) have rejected the need to cut their numbers as proposed by the Government.

The number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) is to be cut from 33 to 16 through the merger of existing VECs, it was announced today.

STUDENT and drinks industry leaders are asking those starting college this month to think before they drink in a campaign that seeks to stop them flushing their studies down the drain.

SUPPORT services for schools face major cuts but teaching jobs will be protected from the chop in December’s budget, Education Minister Mary Coughlan has indicated.

MORE THAN €200 million in funding given to schools to help disadvantaged pupils has failed to deliver progress on reading and maths among the students, the Department of Education has found.

THE vocational education sector must be expanded to help stem the flow of emigration and prepare the country for economic upturn, a conference has been told.

THE publication of the Ryan report on institutional child abuse has led to savings of €15.4 million on legal bills last year.

PLANS to reduce the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) by about a third and make them more efficient will be brought to Government within three weeks by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan.

SUPPORT services for schools, colleges and education centres working with low-skilled students could come under pressure as Vocational Education Committees (VECs) have been told to cut non-teaching staff by up to 10% by the end of 2012.

THE minds of most of this year’s school leavers will already be turning to the confirmation of college courses, a process which begins in earnest next Monday.

A BODY that is patron to more than 60 all-Irish schools has offered its services in areas where the Catholic Church may decide to hand over control of some of its schools.

INCOME cut-offs for college grants next autumn will remain largely unchanged despite pressure to increase third-level access for poorer students when details are announced by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan next week.

NEARLY 60% of former Dell staff, and hundreds more workers from service supply companies who also lost their jobs when the computer giant relocated to Poland, have reacted positively to an innovative EU support fund aimed at retraining and upskilling.

HUNDREDS of third-level students are still awaiting a decision on grant support applications from a number of local authorities throughout Munster.

THE unemployment crisis has prompted a 30% rise in college applications from mature students and other non-Leaving Certificate students.

ALMOST 1,700 students are still waiting for payment of their grants for more than six months, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has claimed.

MARY COUGHLAN’S direct Cabinet swap with Batt O’Keeffe may be seen as a demotion but her new job will not ease the Tánaiste’s political headaches.

STUDENTS may find their opportunities to choose the most suitable college courses are limited because of staffing restrictions in schools, a guidance counsellors’ leader has claimed.

SECOND-level students have urged Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe to reach agreement with teacher unions over the ban on middle-management promotions, which they claim may cause schools to grind under the pressure of being underfunded.

MORE than one-in-four teenagers are dropping out from some second-level schools before the Leaving Certificate.