Hanafin to restrict policy of not teaching English to Gaelscoil infants

GAELSCOILS are expected to be told by Education Minister Mary Hanafin to restrict a policy of not teaching any English to infant classes in the next week.

The directive which education sources have indicated will be sent out before the general election follows a long-running dispute over such a policy of total immersion in Irish at a Kerry school.

As well as angering many Irish language enthusiasts and those in the Gaelscoileanna movement, it is also likely to heighten tensions between the minister and her advisory body, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).