Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science: The State should consider providing members of school boards of management with guaranteed time off work, expenses and tax incentives to attend meetings, a Dáil committee heard yesterday.
Addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science, Paul Rowe of Educate Together, which represents multi-denominational schools here, said recognised courses should also be provided by the State in its review of its policy on volunteering.
This should be coupled with the introduction of formal qualification for board of management members, in particular treasurers and chairpersons, and the creation of a specific qualification and status for school secretaries.
"Ireland stands out among countries in the developed world in having the management of its entire primary school system carried out by volunteers," Mr Rowe said. Partly because of a lack of adequate funding for the training and support of members, patrons of national schools were now reporting increasing difficulties in attracting volunteers, he said.
"This is evidence of a structure that is in need of urgent support and a fresh look at how we do things," he said.
Antoinette Buggle, chairwoman of the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education, said her member boards had difficulty knowing where special schools "fit into the continuum of education". Since they did not know if such schools would remain an integral part of the education system, boards were finding it difficult to develop plans for their schools, she said.
Ms Buggle identified a need for training and support to be made available to boards of management.