Sir, – Reports released in recent days on the quality of Ireland’s educational system contain a number of positive findings (“Irish primary children excel in international reading tests”, News, May 16th; “Reading during lockdown may have boosted Irish children’s literacy scores”, News, May 17th). It is of course appropriate that these have been welcomed and celebrated.
At the same time, it is important not to lose sight of the fate of those the system is leaving behind.
The findings indicate that the long-established gap in achievement levels between those attending Deis primary schools and their peers elsewhere in the system has remained static since 2014.
One would have expected to see some level of concern expressed by the Minister for Education, the Minister for State at that department or indeed the department itself at this finding but, so far, no such response has emerged.
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A commitment to take measures to address the deep-seated inequalities which continue to shape the education system would equally have been expected.
In a very welcome development, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, some months ago, announced that he was establishing a child poverty unit within his department.
He subsequently indicated that education policy would be a central focus of the work of this unit.
In that context it needs to be recognised that the Deis programme, the department’s main policy initiative to respond to educational disadvantage, is not fit for purpose.
Our research demonstrates that while marginal progress has been made since the introduction of the Deis scheme in 2005, educational disadvantage continues to be viewed as a school-based issue, with a lack of recognition and response at a policy level of its fundamental relationship with wider economic inequalities in Irish society. – Yours, etc,
Prof JUDITH HARFORD,
Dr BRIAN FLEMING,
School of Education,
University College Dublin,
Belfield,
Dublin 4.