Madam, - Brendan Butler of Ibec wants to increase the number of maths inspections in our schools with a view to "boosting standards" (The Irish Times, May 4th). To my knowledge, there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that inspections, or the frequency of inspections, can raise academic standards in schools.
There is, however, a vast amount of research which indicates the clear link between investment in education and student performance.
Irish teachers work in the most overcrowded and underfunded classrooms in Europe, while Irish businesses pay among the lowest rates of corporate tax in the world. Sending inspectors into overcrowded classrooms will do nothing to boost standards; lowering the number of pupils in those classes will do everything.
Even a marginal rise in the rate of corporate taxes would bring the Irish pupil-teacher ratio down to the European average of 15:1. Raising corporate taxes here to the European average would fund our schools and go a long way to sorting out our hospitals.
I suspect the "alarm" expressed by Mr Butler at inspection rates in our schools is nothing compared with the alarm triggered by such an unsavoury thought. - Yours, etc,
BERNARD LYNCH, Glendale Meadows, Leixlip, Co Kildare.