More guidance counsellors needed to tackle disadvantage, says report

MORE guidance counsellors are needed in schools to help improve access to third-level education for disadvantaged students, a report has found.

The issue is one of a number raised in a report on equality and access in Dublin, which has the second lowest level of third-level participation in the country.

In schools of up to 500 students, the guidance counsellor must spend at least 11 hours teaching standard subjects in class, although some schools have benefited from increased hours under recent Government initiatives. A 2000 study found that no guidance time is spent with junior cycle students in almost one quarter of disadvantaged schools.