asked the Minister for Education if he is yet in a position to indicate whether a final decision has been reached regarding the provision of suitable television programmes for schools; and, if not, when he expects to be in a position to do so.
109.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Schools Television Programmes.
108.
asked the Minister for Education if any consultations took place with school authorities in regard to the proposed schools TV programme; and, if not, why.
110.
asked the Minister for Education the reasons why such short notice was given to the schools concerned about the initiation of Telefís Scoile; and the reason why such a service has been inaugurated in the middle of the school year.
111.
asked the Minister for Education what teaching organisations were consulted with regard to the suitability of material, programmes, etc., for the new Telefís Scoile; and what form did such consultations take.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 160, 161, 162, and 163 together.
Consideration of the various problems inherent in the provision of suitable television programmes for schools had not, at the beginning of the current school year, reached the stage at which regular broadcasts could be made available from that time.
So as not to delay unduly the provision of such programmes, the necessary preliminary experimental broadcasting stage had to be undertaken during the latter half of the current school-year. It would not have been possible to give the schools longer notice without having to postpone this experimental stage until next year. The school authorities were, however, notified of the project the moment all the necessary arrangements had been completed.
The best approach to the presentation of school television programmes cannot be assessed through advance consultation. Such presentation must be actually viewed by many teachers and pupils before constructive advice and criticism can be expected.
Accordingly, when it is remembered that the school television programme which is to start next week is an experiment for the purpose of attracting such advice and criticism, it will be appreciated that the schools are being consulted from the very beginning of the project.
On what basis does the Minister state—I have not his exact words—that the best form of programme could not be achieved through advance consultation with school organisations?
The programmes being put out from Telefís Éireann are teaching programmes, fitted in with the curriculum being followed in the schools. The actual content in the way of presentation will depend a great deal on what teachers and pupils find useful, and what they find not helpful in the experimental set-up. We could not find that out through prior consultation, but only by experience. It is not a type of educational programme; it is an actual teaching programme fitted in with the ordinary curriculum.
Surely an equally convenient way of finding that out is to have prior consultation and discussions with the school authorities, and then to arrange an experimental programme on the basis of their advice? Why should that be impossible to achieve?
And then have another experiment and more advice? That would be doing it twice. It would not be easy to consult a sufficiently wide number, and then they would have to deal with the programmes as they were found to fit in with the students' capacity to absorb the material in the programme. It was the intention that it should be experimental and that experiment would then be the means of consulting the teachers and the pupils.
On what basis do the schools acquire the television equipment? Does the Minister provide it, or does he subsidise it in respect of each school, and is the programme primarily directed to national schools?
It is a two-series programme on physics, one for Inter Cert and the other for Leaving Cert.
They are both for secondary schools?
Many schools have the equipment but for the experimental period, I am allowing recoupment of the rental of the television sets to a number of schools taking part in the experiment.
What class of schools?
Secondary schools.
Is it intended to extend the television service to primary schools in due course?
It is intended to start extending it immediately if we find it is a useful way of teaching. It may be that the experiment will prove it is not as useful as we thought, but if it is worthwhile, it will be extended first in the secondary courses, and later to the primary schools.
The Minister will find it the most powerful of all teaching media in the primary schools.
Does that mean there will be no more primary schools and that everyone will stay at home?