More than €45,000 of public money is being spent just to get two third-level colleges in the south-east talking to each other about the possibility of resuming merger talks.

High-speed internet, training for teachers and accessible technical support will be key features of a government plan to make technology more a part of daily classroom activity.

UCC’s president said that he does not know what staff payments the Department of Education believes breach pay rules.

The Department of Education has said it can find no evidence that Wexford VEC got permission before signing a lease for a new headquarters which has cost taxpayers €420,000.

Colleges and universities may face stricter controls on which subjects teachers will be trained for, due to shortages being faced by schools.

A small number of Catholic schools may transfer to new patrons later this year but the Department of Education expects others to follow suit in greater numbers over the next few years.

The Government will only talk to the union of 16,000 teachers disrupting 500 second-level schools if they are willing to sign up to the Haddington Road deal, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s top civil servant said yesterday.

A committee member credited with exposing financial irregularities in Cork County VEC has asked the permanent head of the Department of Education to appoint an inspector to further investigate the education body.

County Cork VEC spent almost €50,000 responding to reports that it had lost more than €100,000 due to mismanagement at a Youthreach centre.

Institutes of technology believe efforts to ease pressures of the college points race should not be too focused on Leaving Certificate maths performance.

The head of the Department of Education does not know if Co Cork Vocational Education Committee intentionally misled it over leases it entered into without the department’s prior permission.

Primary school pupils will have their progress tracked in the education system by a long-awaited database that could help the Government develop better education and social policies.

The Department of Education has revealed it is to tackle waste and mismanagement in the VEC sector by unveiling a new system of scrutiny.

The patrons competing to take control of Catholic schools where parents want more choice for their children are being warned not to engage in ‘media battles’ for local support.