Coughlan’s move won’t ease her political problems

MARY COUGHLAN’S direct Cabinet swap with Batt O’Keeffe may be seen as a demotion but her new job will not ease the Tánaiste’s political headaches.

Although she told the Dáil she looks forward to the challenge ahead after being named as Education Minister, Ms Coughlan’s appointment was described by Fine Gael as a clear indication that education is not a priority for Taoiseach Brian Cowen or his Government.

The party’s education spokesperson Brian Hayes said the best way to become Education Minister is to be incompetent in another department.

“It would be an understatement in the extreme to say that Mary Coughlan’s performance in Government has been less than stellar. I have already said the Department of Education is too big. However, now it also has Fás to deal with. This makes no sense,” he said.

Mr Hayes said the decision to split the state training agency between several departments and to move fourth level research out of the Department of Education makes no sense either. “This is a prime example of the disjointed and farcically botched job that Brian Cowen has made of the reshuffle,” he said.

Ms Coughlan’s stewardship of Fás was among the main sources of criticism of her tenure at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

But she said the closer alignment of training and job activation work she began in that role with the further education and training activities of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and institutes of technology provides an opportunity to streamline provision across the education sector.

“We must move away from the traditional approach of teacher-led instruction and the memorising of information, towards a greater emphasis on critical thinking. We need to ensure our students acquire the key skill sets that enable them to be flexible and independent learners throughout the whole of their lives,” Ms Coughlan told the Dáil.

With the Easter teacher union conferences less than a fortnight away, Ms Coughlan was reminded of some of the pressures facing her. Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) general secretary Peter MacMenamin welcomed the re-allocation of training activities to the re-named Department of Education and Skills but called for the urgent abolition of restrictions on student numbers in further education colleges. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland said it looks forward to discussing the importance of second level education with the Tánaiste.

The Irish Vocational Education Association, which represents VECs whose numbers are likely to be reduced soon from 33 to 22, said it will seek an early meeting to make clear their policy on the future role of VECs and the impact of the moratorium blocking appointments to vacant middle management posts in schools.

The Union of Students in Ireland called for the prioritisation of the Student Support Bill.