Sir, - "Upon the education of this country the fate of this country depends." No, this was not one of the major policy statements of a political party prior to the last general election. It was said by Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister, 120 years ago, shortly after the introduction of universal compulsory education. However, could anyone deny that it does not apply with even greater force today in Ireland?
Primary education in Ireland has not had its share of the growing economy. Half of the State's full-time students or pupils are at primary level but only a quarter of the funding of the Department of Education and Science comes to primary schools.
A 12-year-old primary school pupil attracts an annual grant of £50 towards the running and maintenance of the school. Six months later the same pupil, now in a post-primary school, will attract an annual grant of more than £150 a year towards its running and maintenance. There is no justification for a funding gap of £100 between primary and post-primary schools.
Ireland spends less per primary school pupil than any other EU state.
Normally a pupil spends a minimum of eight years at primary level and somewhere between eight and nine years at the higher levels combined. This fact on its own should point out the fallacy of the logic of resources allocation based on simple division between the three levels.
However, much greater significance emerges from consideration of one basic fact: that everyone who goes through all or part of the education system goes through primary level. Comparing the enormous numbers (happily decreasing) who finish their education at primary level with the numbers who go on to second level and the fraction of these who proceed to third level, it is immediately apparent that the division of resources between the three levels borders on the absurd.
I do not pretend to understand why this should be, but it seems inherently wrong. If the level of general education in the State is to be raised, then the proportion of resources allocated to the first stage of education should be dramatically changed, and I would urge the Minister for Education and Science to redress this anomaly in the forthcoming Budget. - Yours, etc., Patricia Slavin,
Northumberlands, Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.