Education reforms - Hanafin must move from talk to walk

THE Government’s chief educational advisers have seriously questioned the commitment of Education Minister Mary Hanafin to changing and modernising the Leaving Certificate curriculum.

Anne Looney, chief executive of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, (NCCA) has written to Ms Hanafin, informing her of the critical views expressed by members of the council at its June meeting.

The NCCA is uneasy about persistent delays in modernising the curriculum for art and a number of new technological subjects, recommended over a year ago but still awaiting departmental approval.

They were recommended to provide a technological edge in order to prevent the Leaving Certificate programme becoming obsolete. The delay in implementation is a poor reflection of the department’s commitment to apply major reforms, according to a spokesman for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.

It raises serious questions about Ms Hanafin’s desire for more young people to study science and technology. The department blames the delay on the need “for a major investment in terms of infrastructure and staff development”.

It added: “It will be important that implementation is underpinned by a full level of supports necessary for schools to adopt the new programmes.”

Put quite simply, the department is blaming the delay on its own lack of funds, because it does not have the money to provide the necessary equipment or to fund in-service training for teachers to teach new courses.

Surely it is not too much to expect the department to issue its statements in clear, concise terms, without obscuring matters with verbose circumlocution.

Of course, the department went on to emphasise its “intention to progress the implementation of the revised syllabi as soon as possible”.

This amounts to saying the civil servants have no intention of doing anything for the time being. This is not really about money; it’s about commitment.

Members of the Government have no trouble finding enormous sums of money to pay for advisers or for the exorbitant expenses run up by both local and national politicians.

The only reason for failing to provide the money for a proper education for our children is a pathetic lack of commitment. Earlier in the week the outrageous state of medical education in this country was highlighted.

We are not producing enough Irish doctors for our own needs, but foreign students who are able to pay enormous fees for their education find it relatively easy to gain admission to medical school in this country.

We have the analogous situation where Irish students have to pay no university fees, but they cannot get places in medicine, while students from outside the EU are able to obtain places with little difficulty, simply because they pay fees.

The need for reform extends from the university to the secondary school level.

It’s time for action, not empty words.