Ireland: Greens reveal final phase of education policy

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Greens reveal final phase of education policy

01 April 2007  By Niamh Connolly, Political Reporter

The Green Party will tomorrow unveil the final section of its Euro 1
billion 50-point education policy, which centres on more funding for
science, special needs pupils, teacher training and the Irish language.
The Green Party will tomorrow unveil the final section of its Euro 1
billion 50-point education policy, which centres on more funding for
science, special needs pupils, teacher training and the Irish language.

The party has already announced many key parts of its education policy,
including the reduction in class sizes, with 2,400 new teachers at primary
and second level, which will cost 84 million Euros, and the doubling of
the capitation grant for primary schools, which will cost 74 million.
While the Labour Party has announced a 1 billion tax-cutting plan, the
Green Party will present alternative proposals to invest significantly in
education instead of cutting taxes. Tomorrow, the party will outline its
final 12 education policies, which are expected to include reform of the
Leaving Cert, spreading the exam over two years, and funding for science
lab assistants at secondary schools, which will cost an estimated 26
million Euros.

The establishment of a National Interactive Science Centre, as recommended
by the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, will cost 200,000 Euros for
the first year of planning. The partys education spokesman, Paul Gogarty,
is likely to propose additional teacher training grants, supports for the
teaching of English in schools and a review of special needs education,
including the introduction of a further 42 educational psychologists. The
Greens support giving formal recognition to ABA schools for autistic
children, which are not recognised by the state for funding purposes.

The Greens programme, entitled 50 Steps to a Better Education Policy, is
likely to support the Conradh na Gaeilge recommendation for the teaching
of Irish literature to pupils with a proficiency in Irish. The party has
already pledged to introduce a statutory maximum class size of 25.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=22383-qqqx=1.asp

***********************************************************************************

N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal.

***********************************************************************************