School enrolment - Changes are welcome

The decision by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn to ban schools from charging fees for enrolment for admission years in advance of attendance should be warmly welcomed.

Parents were being asked for enrolment fees just to put their child on an admission list, and those fees were often non-refundable.

Mr Quinn emphasised that the change should benefit newcomers to an area, including people who return to this country with young families after having emigrated. New regulations will also stipulate that children of former students should no longer be given priority.

The proposed changes to the existing laws are the result of two years of deliberation. Other changes will include a ban on entrance tests, parents being interviewed as part of the admission process, and schools asking about a child’s special needs or disabilities.

Henceforth principles will be responsible for deciding on enrolment applications, and parents will have the right to appeal to the school board for a final decision. This should save the Department of Education around €300,000 annually on enrolment appeals. In an ideal world all this would sound great, but surely the department cannot relinquish total responsibility in the case of a principal and a school board that acts unfairly.