Dingle: Survey of school ’s Irish policy delayed

[Harold Schiffman]

27 December 2007

Survey of school's Irish policy delayed
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

A SURVEY of parents and students about their school's controversial
Irish language policy will not be completed until at least three
months after being announced by Education Minister Mary Hanafin. The
board of management at Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in Dingle, Co Kerry,
this month blocked efforts by her department to access names and
details of the 470 students and their families over concerns that
supplying the information might breach data protection laws.  Ms
Hanafin announced last week she would, instead, invite parents to
write to her department to request the survey form. The survey aims to
find out the views of those at the school about its policy of teaching
all classes entirely through Irish.

Concerned parents have campaigned against the move as, they believe
exceptions should be made for students who do not have a sufficient
standard of Irish to study subjects through the language. Details of
how to request the survey forms have been published in newspapers this
morning, with responses due back to the department's commission on
school accommodation by January 23.
This will be three months after the survey was first announced by Ms
Hanafin in late October. However, Ms Hanafin has said that although
the school should guarantee education through Irish for Gaeltacht
students, provision must also be made for those who cannot learn
exclusively through Irish because their use of the language is not
strong enough.

Parents can apply up to January 10 to the commission on school
accommodation for questionnaires.

http://www.examiner.ie/story/ireland/ojkfcwojoj/rss2/

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