Haughey faces testing timetable in education

SEAN HAUGHEY’S newfound ministerial status may have come as a political relief, but some weighty issues will keep him on his feet at the Department of Education between now and next year’s general election.

With Síle de Valera leaving the Minister of State’s office she occupied at the Department of Education since June 2002, the groundwork has been carried out for him in some of the biggest areas of responsibility, the main ones being:

* New structures for further education and PLC colleges.

* The roll-out of youth work facilities.

* Further development of adult education services.

* Improved safety in the school transport system.

The most lively of these is the issue of further education and how to begin implementing the recommendations of the 2003 McIver report, for which part of the extra €19 million secured by Ms de Valera for adult and continuing education next year has been set aside.

It is understood that the money will be targeted at the country’s 40 largest Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) colleges, to provide increased funding and staffing levels.

A total of 220 such colleges are operated by city and county Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

With discussions set to begin next week between department officials, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the VECs’ umbrella body, the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), Mr Haughey will have to get a quick handle on his brief.

IVEA general secretary Michael Moriarty said the minister is assuming office at a critical time in the development of further education.

“He is in a position to start negotiations for new administrative structures in further education colleges as outlined in the McIver report, and we look forward to working with him and having a new structure in place by early next summer,” he said.

Also at a critical stage is the implementation of the 2001 Youth Work Act, which sets out frameworks and structures for the voluntary sector working with young people, including youth and sporting clubs.

Other challenges facing Mr Haughey will include trying to meet the demands faced in the adult education sector, through which more than 300,000 people are currently learning.

Berni Brady, director of the national adult education association AONTAS, said 2007 will offer the new Minister of State a number of opportunities to prove his commitment to Ireland’s adult learners.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said that, in his role of special responsibility for adult education, it is crucial that Mr Haughey help end the policy of charging fees to part-time students.

“Thousands of Irish people are effectively priced out of learning,” said USI president Colm Hamrogue.