INTO get tough on equipment donations

THE days of collecting tokens and sweet wrappers for school equipment could soon become a thing of the past under new rules from primary school teachers.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has issued its 25,000 members with a policy on commercial products in primary schools, in the absence of Department of Education guidelines. The union’s annual congress has passed motions calling for guidance on the matter in recent years, but no such guidelines have been issued until now.

The INTO document is based on the principle that pupils should not be exploited for commercial ends at school. However, the union also acknowledged that truly philanthropic contributions on the part of the business community should be encouraged, such as local business sponsoring school jerseys.

The country’s primary and second level schools have been inundated in recent years with offers of educational equipment and other schemes run by commercial interests. However, schools are often unable to refuse them because of a shortage of resources from the Department of Education and other State agencies. For example, the Tesco Computers for Schools initiative has delivered equipment worth more than €10 million in the past decade, in return for vouchers awarded to shoppers in the supermarket chain’s stores.

The INTO policy advises schools to consider the advertising content and the educational quality of all commercial schemes before deciding whether to participate. Teachers and principals have been told that schools should be free from proof-of-purchase incentive schemes.

“The presence of voucher collection boxes, target charts, promotional posters and letters of appeal for vouchers is unacceptable advertising in schools,” the policy document says.

It adds that schools should be free from sponsored material carrying an overt or prominent advertising message, such as posters, worksheets or certificates, as logos or sponsor names should only appear on teachers’ materials rather than items used by pupils themselves.

“Young children typically lack the capability to recognise and defend effectively against commercial persuasion. Despite the fact that advertising is widespread in society, it’s unfair to direct commercial content at children too young to recognise its persuasive intent,” the union policy says.

Even where schemes are free from any commercial bias or branding which might influence children, schools are being advised to assess their educational quality. For example, the company should ensure all information supplied is accurate and current, as material can often be time-sensitive.

The materials should also respect diversity of gender, race, disability and cultural issues and reflect contemporary society, if they are to be approved under the INTO policy.

A recent article in the Department of Education’s research journal, Oideas, suggested that the negative effects of many commercial schemes can sometimes outweigh their benefits.