Talks between the Minister of Education and the second level teachers unions have failed to avert strike action.

Reading your special report by Conor Ryan (Oct 1), it is amazing how all of the Irish media and reporters have covered the fact that the Catholic Church and its religious orders have mostly reneged on the deal agreed with Dr Michael Woods, the then Minister of Education, regarding compensation to victims of abuse suffered in Catholic institutions.

I RECENTLY received a copy of a three page letter that 13-year-old Fiadh Little had written to the Minister of Education Ruairí Quinn.

EDUCATE Together has called on the Government to abolish the Junior Certificate so special needs funding can be made a priority.

THE multi-denominational body Educate Together is considering opening a new school in Cork city’s southern suburbs due to high demand from parents.

HAVING listened to Live Line over the last few days about the dreadful conditions those “fallen” women of the Magdalene Laundries endured I am almost in tears.

A ROW erupted yesterday between Fine Gael and two of the country’s biggest book publishers over the “short shelf-life” of school books.

WE were pleased to read in your issue of August 29 that the Minister of Education, Mary Hanafin, intends to conduct an audit of schools in relation to their enrolment policies.

The Minister of Education Mary Hanafin will be meeting union representatives next month to discuss the issue of publishing more information on schools.

Parents around the country are said to be "distraught" over the controversy of a shortage in school buses for the nest academic year.

PEOPLE who were abused in institutions needed to hear the State say it was sorry because the State had let them down, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday.

Martin McGuinness today warned unionists are inflicting huge psychological harm on their communities by accusing him of biased school funding.

A bid to have Sinn Fein minister Martin McGuinness ousted from the Stormont Executive was launched in the Northern Ireland Assembly today.

The death toll in the Kenyan school fire has risen to 64 as four more students have died from their burns.