Database to track learning progress of primary school pupils

Primary school pupils will have their progress tracked in the education system by a long-awaited database that could help the Government develop better education and social policies.

The Department of Education has been asked for more than 20 years to set up a primary pupil database similar to one that operates for second-level students. It is now preparing to do so, although it will be next year at the earliest before primary schools can use it.

The database could help provide statistics about the country’s 520,000 primary pupils, and provide such important information as: