Crisis in education - Coalition has failed on special needs

AS schools across the country open today, it is shocking that upwards of 1,000 children will not make the vital transition from primary to second-level education.

Doomed to spend their lives on the margins of society, they are the forgotten children of a nation that boasts Europe’s fastest growing economy.

Many fail to go on to secondary school because they come from deprived backgrounds.

In cases where families have difficulty coping, education tends to get a low priority.

In some instances, parents leave it too late to apply to a particular school. But obstacles can also be put in the path of children by enrolment policies designed to prevent some kids getting past the main gate.

Every year, an unknown number of children fail to make it into secondary level because they are effectively black-balled. Anecdotally, this problem is more prevalent in Dublin and on the east coast. But it is by no means confined to the capital.

It is outrageous that any child should find the school gates closed because they come from the wrong side of the track. In a so-called Christian country, there should be no place for the cynical brand of snobbery that consigns children to the scrap heap.

This problem must be rooted out by the relevant authorities. As emphasised by Eddie Ward, chief executive of the National Education Welfare Board, school entry must be based on policies which are fair and equitable.

While parents are entitled to appeal a decision preventing a child from entering a particular school, it requires great strength of character to take on the system. If any child is snubbed by a school, the authorities must be prepared to give full backing to the parents and to tackle the issue aggressively.

In recent weeks much has been made of the lack of resources available to Ireland’s Olympic squad. The team’s poor performance has come in for strong criticism.

By comparison, however, the lack of resources for Athens pales into insignificance compared with the critical lack of resources for children in Ireland’s education system.

Many of those with special needs may never reach their full potential because governments have failed to address their plight.

By the time some pupils reach sixth class in primary school they are so far behind because of a lack of resources that they fail to go on. The real failure, however, lies with a Government that promises much but delivers little. To make matters worse, the already scarce resources will be spread even thinner on schools up and down the country in the coming year.

Despite Education Minister Noel Dempsey’s move to provide more resources, more than 1,000 schools will actually lose out this year. Only two-thirds of the 350 special needs jobs promised in April are now in place. The other 116 will not be appointed until September 2005.

Effectively, Mr Dempsey is telling schools which are not getting resources to make do with what they have.

For parents and teachers alike this is a crushing blow.

Above all, however, it is a kick in the teeth for the pupils struggling to cope with subjects they find difficult.

Having broken yet another pledge, the Coalition must find the missing resources and re-allocate funding for special needs staff in the coming Budget.

Rather than the present piecemeal approach to the education crisis, the Government must produce interwoven policies backed by adequate funding.