Irish Examiner View: No room for complacency in education 

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.

This is cause for optimism, because it suggests that the younger generation has not given itself over to TikTok and Instagram entirely, but has maintained Ireland’s reputation for literacy. It also contributes to a powerful, long-held belief in this country — that well-educated young Irish people are a powerful selling point when it comes to attracting industries.

It is also encouraging for the less obvious reasons cited above. 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.

That does not mean resting on our laurels when it comes to education. As reported here yesterday, targets to improve reading and maths skills for the most disadvantaged students by 2020 have not yet been met. 

A gap remains between students in disadvantaged schools (Deis) and non-Deis schools, and though it did not widen significantly during the pandemic, key targets set in 2017 aiming to tackle educational disadvantage have been missed.

It goes without saying that success in education means success for all in education.