Why doing it by the book is wasting schools’ time

A few times a week and at the end of every month, primary school deputy principal Paul Harrington complies with education law by writing pupil attendance figures from his computer into a book like those used by his 19th century predecessors.

It’s 21st century Irish education — but not as the Google, Facebook, Microsoft or other hi-tech employers in Ireland might like to imagine it.

Department of Education rules mean each school must have a manually filled leabhar tinrimh laethúil, detailing weekly and monthly attendance records for all their pupils, for any visiting inspectors.