Bigger spend on schools called for

UP to 100 second level schools should be designated ‘disadvantaged’ based on 2001 research which measured the proportion of students with medical cards, poor Junior Certificate results, and early school leaving rates.

The recommendations are contained in the statutory Educational Disadvantage Committee’s final report, which has been presented to Education Minister Mary Hanafin.

The report recommends increased spending on education, closer collaboration between sections of the Department of Education dealing with disadvantage and full resources for the National Educational Welfare Board, which is charged with responsibility for full school attendance.

The product of more than three years’ work, the report of the expert committee sets out strategies and objectives for increasing educational inclusion, but also highlights shortcomings in current policies.

It says the schemes aimed at disadvantaged schools have been lacking in unity, meaning that different programmes, which often have the same aim, have been working independently of each other.