Proposals to raise entry requirements for primary teacher training courses could be replaced with literacy and numeracy tests for applicants.

The training of teachers in 22 different colleges is wasteful in a country this size, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has said.

PROFESSOR Áine Hyland’s analysis of the school league tables for 2011 reveals that the worry of UCC president, Dr Michael Murphy that there was “extensive anecdotal evidence” that many of the brightest and best Leaving Certificate students are leaving Ireland without returning, is without foundation.

PARENTS have been invited to a public meeting in Cork next week to discuss setting up one of the first second-level Educate Together schools in the country.

I WELCOME the recently published report Entry to Higher Education in the 21st Century by Áine Hyland. Many thoughtful suggestions for reform are included.

STUDENTS who can afford grinds and other supports will have an unfair advantage at the Leaving Certificate until changes are made to how school-leavers are assessed, college leaders have said.

COLLEGES have been accused of increasing the number of specialised courses with limited places to push up points for entry — making them more attractive, but adding to pressure on Leaving Certificate students to get higher grades.

STUDENTS could be selected for college by lottery instead of having to compete just on the basis of their Leaving Certificate results, according to one proposal for reform of third-level entry.

PARENTS and the public, generally, must accept the Leaving Certificate has to challenge students rather than react angrily to difficult exam papers, says the head of the agency that will lead its overhaul.

ANY changes to reduce the pressures on students to perform well in the Leaving Certificate can only be welcomed.

A report, set to be published later today, is to propose radical change in the way Irish students apply for college places.

THE science content of a degree needed to teach physics or chemistry is being changed after a review found the two elements were not sufficient.

WORK to improve literacy among children in the poorest communities must be constantly reviewed if the €1 billion government spend on educational disadvantage is put to best use, according to the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF).

LEADING educationalists from the US and Britain will be among experts debating the future of higher education in Ireland in a conference this week at Waterford Institute of Technology.

THE latest phase of management restructuring at University College Cork is moving ahead, with the creation of three vice-presidents’ posts in the areas of operations, teaching and student experience.

A LEADER in the development of education in Ireland is to be honoured by civic leaders in Cork this evening.

GOVERNMENT spending on third-level must increase significantly or it will fail in its own stated aim of developing a research economy, a leading education expert has warned.

The report of the independent watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), on the failure of Government initiatives to improve educational prospects for children from poor backgrounds, is a damning indictment of the lack of co-ordination of school schemes.

THERE is ongoing debate among academics and students as to the effectiveness and influence of students’ unions.

TEACHERS are demanding to meet with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern after accusing the Government of failing to reduce class sizes despite an election pledge to tackle the problem.

CHILDREN from poor families are no more likely to miss school regularly than other children.

SCHOOLS should be funded based on the number of children from disadvantaged homes on their roll books, an expert group has told the Government.

AT least €7.5 million is to be poured from long-term unused bank accounts into schemes to help people who have not benefited from education.

THE money spent on keeping young people from disadvantaged areas in school needs to be better divided to give them a chance of getting to third level, an education expert said last night.

BETTER planning and less duplication of resources is needed if the educational system is to be accessible to everyone, a major report has warned.

The first report of the Educational Disadvantage Committee, which represents the views of a considerable constituency of organisations involved in the field, would appear to be a commitment to common sense.

LABELLING young people with learning difficulties is counterproductive and can damage their self-esteem, an education expert has warned.