Irish Examiner View: No room for complacency in education 

Education and knowledge are the surest long-term bets against those root causes of racism and bigotry — a well-informed, literate cohort of young people is a strong first line of defence against the spread of disinformation and prejudice

there was encouraging news to be found in recent days, with the announcement that Irish 10-year-olds outperform most of their international peers when it comes to reading.

The shocking events in Dublin last week, when the tents of homeless refugees were set on fire, illustrates a terrible ugliness in modern Irish life, and the causes of that ugliness are rooted in wilful ignorance and deliberate misrepresentation.

Yet there was encouraging news to be found as well in recent days, with the announcement that Irish 10-year-olds outperform most of their international peers when it comes to reading. Not only are they near the top of the table, Irish students also have a consistent track record in this area — back in 2016, Irish 10-year-olds outperformed pupils in other EU and OECD countries, and on a wider international stage only Russia and Singapore scored significantly higher.