I move:
That a sum not exceeding £1,274,220 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1967, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Education (including Institutions of Science and Art), for certain Miscellaneous Educational and Cultural Services, and Sundry Grants-in-Aid.
Is mór mar phribhléid agam é gur orm a thiteann sé Meastacháin an Oideachais do thabhairt isteach i mbliana. Deirim é sin de bhrí go measaim go mbeidh an bhliain seo ina bhliain stairiúil ó thaobh an oideachais in Éirinn. Na tairiscintí a chuirfidh mé faoi bhráid an Tí ní geallúintí a bheidh iontu ach céim mhór eile ar aghaidh i dtabhairt i bhfeidhm an pholasaí chinnte atá ag an Rialtas i leith an oideachais. Léireoidh siad an tábhacht agus an tosaíocht atá á dtabhairt ag an Rialtas don oideachas. Feicfidh sibh nach é atá i gceist leo "mair a chapaill agus gheobhair féar".
The total provision in the seven Votes for which I am responsible, is £33,778,250. This represents an increase of £3,080,190 in the provision for the previous financial year. Under Vote 8 (Public Works and Buildings) £2,300,000 is being provided for the building of new schools and the enlargement and improvement of existing schools. The extent of the extra money we are now spending on education can be gauged from the fact that in 1957-58 the total expenditure was less than £16,000,000.
I shall now give the House some facts and figures relating to the various Votes.
OFFICE OF THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.
This Vote comprises (a) the administration costs of the Department, and (b) the provision for the services which formerly appeared in what was a separate Science and Art Vote. At £1,274,220 this year's Estimate shows an increase of £141,720 in the amount for last year.
The following items account for the main portion of that increase:
(1) Provision for the additional staff which the extension of educational services, particularly the setting up of a special Development Branch, necessitated.
(2) Provision for salary increases and for the normal incremental progression.
(3) University Scholarships. The further operation of the Scholarships Act, 1961, will entail an additional expenditure of £26,000 by the Department this year.
PRIMARY EDUCATION.
The net amount under this Vote is £18,854,600, which is £1,483,200 in excess of the amount for 1965/66. The major portion of that excess is to meet the additional provision for salaries and emoluments of teachers.
In the school year which ended 30th June, 1965, there were 14,469 teachers employed in national schools as compared with 14,297 for the same date in 1964. The number of pupils on rolls on 30th June, 1965, was 506,552, an increase of 4,351 in the number for the same date in 1964.
Once again substantial progress was made last year in the replacement of unsuitable national schools and in the reconstruction and improvement of exisiting schools. In fact 1965-66 was a record year for national school building: 130 new schools were built and major schemes of improvement or extension were carried out in the case of 121 schools. In all, 23,940 pupil places were provided. This is over 60 per cent greater than the average for the previous decade.
Members of the House will recollect that in each of the past seven years the teacher/pupil ratio has been improved. A further improvement has been made this year. The figure of enrolment required for a third assistant—four teachers in all—has been reduced from 140 to 130 and reductions have been continued up to and including the sixth assistant.
Two other developments this year which merit special mention are the steps taken to train untrained teachers and the revisions made in the conditions governing the competition for entry to the training colleges. In 1958 we ceased, as a matter of firm policy, to recruit untrained teachers. In that respect we then were and probably still are unique in Western Europe. There remained, however, in the service a number of untrained teachers who previous to that time had been granted permanent recognition as junior assistant mistresses or untrained assistants. Arrangements were put into effect this year whereby such untrained teachers who are under 56 years of age will by a series of summer courses and set studies during each year be enabled to reach the status of trained teacher. Such courses were held at two centres last July.
A committee consisting of representatives of the teachers, training colleges and my Department was appointed to examine the conditions governing the competition for entry to the training colleges, the curriculum for the training courses and the final examination. The committee made a number of recommendations in regard to the entrance competition, the majority of which have been accepted and will be in operation for the 1967 competition. Among the recommendations accepted was that singing should not be essential for men candidates and that needlework should not be essential for girls.
SECONDARY EDUCATION.
The net total amount provided for secondary education is £6,654,100. This is an increase of roughly £800,000 on the amount provided last year in the original and supplementary estimates. The principal headings under which the increase occurs are grants to schools, teachers' salaries, scholarships for post-primary education and building grants to secondary schools and comprehensive schools.
When introducing last year's Estimate for this Vote, my predecessor said that within a few years the number of pupils on the rolls of secondary schools would have reached 100,000. This position was in fact almost reached in the 1965-66 school year with its enrolment of close on 99,000 students, an increase of 5,500 over the previous year. There is every indication that this growth rate will continue, so that the task of providing the increased accommodation and facilities necessary to cater for these numbers over the next few years will be considerable.
To help to meet this demand for places, the building grant scheme for secondary schools is being fully availed of by secondary school authorities. To date 149 applications have been received under the scheme. These involve total building costs of approximately £13,500,000. The majority of these applications relate to replacements of or extensions to existing buildings, but in all cases a greatly increased number of pupil places is being provided. The trend is generally, therefore, towards very much larger school units. The provision for such grants this year is £140,000, which was arrived at on the basis of the State contribution towards the initial repayments on loans obtained by school managers in respect of 29 building projects, the total capital cost of which was estimated to be approximately £4,000,000. I might point out here that the grants under this scheme take the form of an annual 60 per cent contribution towards the total repayments, capital and interest, arising from loans obtained by secondary school authorities to meet their building costs.
Of equal importance to providing school places is the need to have a sufficiency of qualified teaching personnel. We are fortunate here that there has been a very considerable growth in the numbers entering secondary teaching. In 1965-66 the number of newly registered teachers was 416 as compared with 152 15 years previously, 1950-51. In the same period the number of registered secondary teachers in receipt of salary has increased from 2,219 to 4,253. In 1965-66, in addition, 370 teachers were paid the special supplementary allowance for probationer teachers.
The provision for refresher and training courses for teachers was extended still further this year: in all, five refresher courses—one each in Irish, classics, history, geography and domestic science—and 43 in-service courses were held. The in-service courses consisted of 24 courses in mathematics, 11 courses in science, three courses in Irish, two courses in French, and one course each in civics, which included sociology, physical education and music. Some of these courses were organised directly by the Department while others were organised by teacher associations or University Colleges in co-operation with and financed by the Department. I might mention in relation to the courses in Irish that this is only a commencement and will be followed next year by a wider series of courses linked with the introduction into post-primary schools as from September, 1967 of graded courses in Irish designed to improve oral proficiency in the language. These graded courses will go hand-in-hand with the introduction of an oral test in Irish as part of a revised syllabus in Irish for intermediate certificate pupils.
Much of the need for these training and refresher courses arises out of the complete revision which has just taken place of the syllabuses in all subjects of the intermediate certificate course. From this point of view the past year has been one of outstanding progress in which both secondary and vocational school associations have wholeheartedly collaborated with the Department in framing new syllabuses more in keeping with the times. For this and for their co-operation generally, I wish to express my gratitude. As a result of the united efforts of all concerned, we have already issued the new intermediate certificate syllabuses and these have been in operation in the schools since September last. I have under review at the moment the whole question of the structure of the leaving certificate courses and examination and of the syllabuses that would be required. I hope to get these matters moving during the current school year.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.
The net sum being sought for the vocational education service is £3,523,960. This is an increase of £45,460.
In view of certain statements which have been made in recent months suggesting that reductions have been effected in the financial resources of vocational education committees, I think the House should be informed of the factual position in this matter. The total amount actually expended by all 38 committees on non-capital account in the financial year 1965-66 was £4,716,307. The total amount approved for expenditure in 1966-67 is £5,012,065 representing an increase of almost £300,000 on the previous year's expenditure. The total income of the committees for 1966-67 is estimated at £5,132,186.
Such has been the pace of the development of vocational education in recent years that it has become necessary to introduce special State grants over and above those which are related to the contributions made to committees by their rating authorities. These special grants have acquired the name of "solvency grants" and the amount provided for them in relation to the 1965-66 financial schemes was £891,000. The amount provided for 1966-67 after examination of the financial schemes for that year submitted by the committees in November, 1965, was £946,000.
The vocational education service continues to provide a wide variety of courses ranging from day continuation work at the immediate post-primary level to evening classes for adults and to the training of technicians and technologists for industry. Last September, however, saw the commencement of a new era in the opening up of access to the Intermediate Certificate course to pupils in vocational schools. This has created new problems for committees, chief executive officers and teachers and has made the present session a more than usually difficult one for all concerned. I am glad to be able to inform the House, however, that the initial period of adaptation is being successfully coped with and that I am hopeful that with co-operation and goodwill the full benefit of the new courses will soon be extended to all the pupils in vocational schools.
Another feature of this year's Estimate for vocational education to which I should like to refer is the increased provision for teacher-training courses conducted by the Department. Existing courses have been extended in scope and new courses have been introduced, with the result that the number of vocational teachers in training under the Department in the present session is 50 per cent greater than the number in training in 1964-65.
The total number of permanent whole-time teachers already employed by vocational education committees according to their financial schemes of November, 1965, was 2,350 and the number of additional appointments authorised in sanctioning those schemes was 150.
With regard to the method of appointment of vocational teachers, I indicated last July that it was my intention to have the present system replaced by an arrangement under which these teachers would be selected for appointment by an independent body set up for that purpose.
A further development in technical education which has already been announced is the provision of regional technical colleges. I mention it now specially because of the steps which I have taken recently in order to hasten the erection of these colleges. In September last I set up an ad hoc steering committee drawn from industry and management to prepare an educational brief for these colleges. Side by side with that I have appointed a consortium of architects, engineers and quantity surveyors to supervise the erection of the colleges. With the advances which have already been made I am hopeful that the building stage should be reached by the spring of 1968, and that the colleges will be open before the end of 1969.
REFORMATORY AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.
The amount sought under this Vote for the financial year 1966-67 is £262,500—a decrease of £23,050 on that for the year 1965-66. This decrease is due to the decline in the numbers of children detained in the schools. At the end of 1965 there were 100 boys and 20 girls in the three reformatories as compared with 116 boys and 25 girls at the end of 1964. In the 42 industrial schools the numbers were 1,256 boys and 1,266 girls at the end of 1965 as compared with 1,388 boys and 1,444 girls at the end of 1964.
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES AND DUBLIN INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES.
The provision under this Vote at £3,182,800 shows a net increase of £293,500 on the amount for 1965-66. This is due to:
(a) an increase of £449,890 in the annual grant for general purposes in the case of the three Colleges of the National University, Trinity College and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies;
(b) an increase of £28,000 in the grant for the Dublin Dental Hospital;
(c) a net decrease of £184,390 in the grants towards additional accommodation and equipment. These grants are as follows for the current financial year: University College, Dublin, £187,990; University College, Cork, £246,000; University College, Galway, £56,620; Trinity College, £311,000.
The net decrease is due in the main to the fact that the £187,990 to University College, Dublin, is a residual payment as against the £590,000 due to the College last year in relation to the cost of its new science block.
The increases in the grant for general purposes relate to increases in salaries for the staffs of the colleges, staff expansion and the greater numbers receiving university education.
The number of university students in whole-time attendance at the colleges increased from some 10,500 in 1959-60 to over 14,000 in 1965-66. This presents a serious problem of accommodation. The steps which I am taking and will take in the matter will, I am satisfied, meet the needs of these ever-increasing numbers of students.
NATIONAL GALLERY.
Provision is made in this Vote for £26,070, an increase of £660 on last year's figure. While on this subject I should like to commend highly the very successful efforts of the Gallery authorities in recent times to bring the public to a better acquaintance with the national treasures which are in their keeping.
GENERAL.
My policy in regard to post-primary education in general has as its objective the providing of comprehensive facilities in as many centres as is reasonably practicable so that as far as possible our children will have a genuine option in the matter of choosing the type of education which best suits their aptitudes and talents. Comprehensive facilities can be provided in two ways, by the establishment of comprehensive schools and by the dovetailing of the activities of the secondary and vocational school systems, including the effect of a common intermediate examination. The number of comprehensive schools will not be large, but while they will be few in number, they will act as a signpost for the two existing systems and point the way to what can be provided by a full measure of co-operation between these systems.
With this in view, my predecessor in January last sent a circular letter to the authorities of all the secondary and vocational schools in the country outlining his policy and asking for their co-operation in breaking down the barriers which have hitherto existed between the secondary and vocational school systems. The response to this letter has been very heartening and has shown the great fund of good will which exists for anything which is designed to improve the educational opportunities available to our children. With regard to the comprehensive schools, three of these have been opened in Carraroe, Cootehill and Shannon. Plans for a fourth comprehensive school in Glenties are being finalised and I hope that work on its construction will be commenced by the spring of next year.
My Department is at present completing a survey of post-primary educational facilities in the country with a view to assessing the requirements of each area in catering for the raising of the school leaving age and the giving of post-primary education to all. Already the results of these surveys have been issued to the appropriate authorities of Counties Carlow, Donegal, Kilkenny, Laois, Waterford and Wexford, and meetings have been arranged to discuss how best the requirements of each county may be met.
The year that has passed witnessed a memorable event in the publication of the first results of the language research undertaken in An Teanglann at Gormanston by the Franciscan Fathers and by my Department. Under the title of "Buntús Gaeilge", we have in one book the basic material to enable us to make a major breakthrough in the teaching of Irish through the framing of scientifically based courses which will be taught by scientific methods. Last year trial courses were followed in 12 national schools with most satisfactory results. This year further courses are being tried out in 200 national schools. All the reports we are receiving are, to say the least, most encouraging. Side by side with this, three committees, comprising representatives of the teaching profession and of the Department's inspectorate, are working out graded courses for primary and post-primary schools which it is hoped to have in general operation in September of next year. Arrangements have been made with Radio Telefís Éireann to have a course suitable for adults broadcast on radio and television commencing in the autumn of 1967. The work on the preparation of a booklet which will accompany this course is well advanced. It is hardly necessary for me to stress that in the preparation of all these courses the emphasis will be on the spoken tongue.
There may be some people who may ask why are we going to all this trouble about the framing of courses in Irish. To my mind, the answer is the simple one which was given on another occasion recently, that is, the Irish language is the most Irish thing we have got. I would go a little further and say it is also the oldest part of our national heritage. That the national aim in relation to the restoration of Irish is sound is surely borne out by the fact that no country ever voluntarily agreed to the abandonment of its national language. We owe it, therefore, to our children to teach them Irish and to use the best possible methods of so doing.
Let it not be thought, however, that our efforts in relation to language teaching have been devoted entirely to Irish. This is very far from being the case. Several hundreds of our teachers of French, for example, have attended special courses in Gormanston dealing with the most modern methods of language teaching including the use of audio-visual aids with which the Department is assisting by special grants to equip the schools. The result of the efforts made may be seen in the fact that the number of secondary school pupils taking French has increased from 37,041 in 1960-61 to 60,956 in 1965-66.
Let me add that the position in relation to language teaching has not been achieved at the expense of science subjects. In fact the number of students studying science in secondary schools has risen from 41,643 in 1960-61 to 64,943 in 1965-66.
PROVISION OF FREE POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION.
I have given the House the facts and figures together with some general comments in regard to the Votes for which I have responsibility. It remains for me, now, to fulfil the promise I made by giving details of my plans for the provision of free education at post-primary level and for assistance at university level for students who have the ability to profit from higher education but who, because their parents are unable to meet the attendant costs are denied the opportunity for higher education.
I would remind the House of the Government's decision to raise the school-leaving age to 15 by 1970 and of my own policy, and that of my predecessors in office, Deputy Dr. Hillery and Deputy Colley, to provide within that compulsory attendance period, a post-primary course covering three years. If attendance at school is to be compulsory up to 15 and if the three-year period from 12 to 15 is to be spent in a post-primary school, then in keeping with the practice in all other countries free post-primary education must be available up to intermediate certificate level.
Furthermore, because of the importance of providing better-educated young people for our developing economy and with a view to utilising fully our human resources, it is essential that students be encouraged to stay at school beyond the compulsory age. The drop-out of pupils during the intermediate period is considerable. The Report on Investment in Education shows that in 1963 approximately 11,000 pupils left full-time education before reaching junior certificate level; 4,000 of these left secondary schools before completing the intermediate certificate course and 7,000 left vocational schools without doing the group certificate. This is the very time that training for craftsmen, technicians and the like begins—the area in which our national needs are the greatest.
The Report on Investment in Education and the considerable public discussion to which the Report has given rise, have high-lighted the extent to which ability to pay has governed the rates of participation in post-primary education. Commenting on this, the Report states:—
6.92 These tables (6.27-6.29) and the accompanying diagrams show a very marked association between social groups and participation in full-time education. In particular they show a marked contrast between Groups B (Professional, Senior Employees, etc.) and C (Clerks, etc.) on the one hand and Groups D, E, F, (Skilled, Semi-skilled and Unskilled Workers, etc.) on the other, a contrast which becomes the more marked the higher the age group and the higher the level. If the same circumstances were to prevail in future it would mean that today's children of those latter social groups would have a relatively small chance of being in full-time education in ten years' time.
The National Industrial Economic Council's comments on the Report draws attention to the difficulties created for our economic system through the lack of adequate numbers of people having, as a basic requirement, education up to intermediate certificate level. The Council's comments include the following:—
The comparison of the potential demand for those with the different qualifications with the potential supply (see Table 8.4. page 201) suggested that there would be a cumulative surplus of about, 70,000 for those possessing no post-primary qualification and a cumulative deficit of a similar order for those with intermediate (or equivalent) certificate. The growing shortage of technicians is particularly disquieting because of the critical importance of this category of worker for economic expansion ... the broad picture as seen by the team is likely to remain; namely too many workers lacking the appropriate skills and too few with a higher educational qualification.
On top of that, there is a growing awareness among the public generally of the handicaps arising in later life from the lack of an adequate education. There is accordingly widespread and growing pressure for post-primary educational facilities to be brought within the reach of all.
PART A—POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION.
These then are the considerations that moved me to seek Government sanction to make available beginning in September, 1967, the opportunity for free post-primary education up to the end of the leaving certificate course. In this regard the Government decided that it would be highly undesirable to introduce "free" post-primary education at any level on the basis of a means test and felt that such a procedure should be avoided. The scheme which I now put before the House proposes a supplemental State grant to schools in certain fee ranges on the condition that they will discontinue charging school fees, that is, that they will offer free education to all pupils. I expect that the majority of day schools will opt to take this scheme.
I propose that the supplemental grant be the equivalent of the fees charged to the pupils at present subject to a minimum of £15 and a maximum of £25. The minimum is proposed for two reasons: first, to ensure that reasonably adequate facilities are provided and, second, to avoid the accusation that schools which have held their fees at a very low level are being penalised. In regard to the maximum of £25 it is my hope that this sum would make the scheme acceptable to all schools charging £30 or less at present, as there would be a guaranteed payment of £25 per pupil whereas at present in most schools the total fees actually collected fall short of those charged. On this basis, about 75 per cent of day pupils in secondary schools, 61,500 pupils, would have free education available to them. The remaining 25 per cent of day pupils attend schools charging day fees in excess of £30 per annum and will be free to continue attending these schools if their parents want them to do so and are prepared to pay the school fees.
The schools charging fees in excess of £30 would continue to receive the capitation grants, science and other special grants payable by the Department and would continue also to have the incremental salaries of their teachers paid by the Department. I might stress that all secondary schools whether they would come within my scheme or not would continue to enjoy the same degree of autonomy as they do at present.
The existing fees in the comprehensive schools are £6 per annum and these will be abolished. The existing fees in the vocational schools and secondary tops attached to national schools are very low and it is considered that an additional grant of £4 per pupil would be sufficient to enable these schools to abolish fees altogether.
There are a number of pupils whose places of residence are so remote as to put them outside the range of a transport service. Because of the amount of time involved in travelling I feel that the effective radial limit of a school transport service should not exceed 15 miles. Such pupils would, accordingly, be precluded from post-primary education unless they attended boarding schools. I propose, therefore, to give their cases special consideration.
There are furthermore a number of other pupils who attend boarding schools because the vocation they have set before themselves makes their attendance at such schools necessary. I have in mind in that regard especially the Diocesan Colleges. I propose also to give special consideration to this other group of pupils.
The Protestant community could possibly benefit to the same extent as the Catholic community under the proposed scheme. While 75 per cent of Catholic pupils in secondary schools would benefit under the scheme only 7½ per cent of Protestant pupils would do so. The reasons are as follows: (a) the cost of education in Protestant schools is higher because of the nature of the organisation which must obtain in the case of these schools; (b) because of the dearth of suitable day schools, a very high proportion of Protestant pupils—two out of every five—can only receive post-primary education by attending boarding schools.
The Protestant schools are, therefore, a special problem and, I feel, require special assistance. It could be argued that they would be discriminated against because the nature of their problem would put them virtually outside the scope of the scheme for free education. The transport scheme for Protestant pupils attending national schools already recognises the unfavourable position of these children vis-à-vis Catholic children in respect of accessibility of suitable national schools. The principle, therefore, of special treatment for Protestants to meet their special difficulties has already been recognised by my Department.
I found it necessary, accordingly, to devise a scheme of assistance for Protestant children receiving post-primary education so as to provide equity of treatment with Catholic children. My proposal is to give the supplemental grant of £25 per pupil to approximately 75 per cent of Protestant day pupils, that is, the same overall ratio as for Catholics. The amount of the fee which they are obliged to charge impelled me to offer the maximum assistance per pupil of £25. Obviously, it is not possible to operate a scheme on the school basis, as is proposed for Catholic pupils, and I am entirely opposed to my setting up a means test for Protestant pupils only. As an alternative, I propose to channel the grant through a central representative agency, as I do in the case of the transport scheme, and let that authority distribute the money to the individual schools on the basis of the needs of the pupils. It is understood that the Protestant school authorities would be prepared to operate such an arrangement. Protestant day pupils total 3,600 in all, and to provide a grant of £25 for about 75 per cent of that number would cost approximately £70,000.
These then are my proposals in relation to the provision of free tuition in the post-primary schools. The cost of these proposals in a full year would be approximately £1,630,000.
Under our present system of post-primary education the obstacles in the way of the student from the lower income family may be set down as follows: the inability of his parents to pay the school fees demanded; their inability to meet the cost of school books and requisites; the need for an additional breadwinner in the family; the absence of motivation from the family environment; and the cost of transport in rural areas.
This nation is dependent largely on our human resources and our economic and social well-being demands that we exploit to the full the abilities and aptitudes of our people. It is essential, therefore, that all pupils be encouraged to achieve an educational proficiency in accord with their varying abilities and talents. In particular, pupils who could profit from a course leading to the leaving certificate should not be baulked of it because of inability to meet the necessary costs. But it is not sufficient for pupils from the lower income groups that free tuition be available to them: the other difficulties in their way must be removed or alleviated as far as possible.
For such pupils, then, the State must offer more than free tuition. Financial assistance towards the purchase of books and other accessories must be provided for them. Already they will be lacking in reading opportunity and this initial disadvantage will be aggravated by their inability to purchase the text books they need.
The price of school books has increased considerably over the years and now represents a sizable sum, particularly in the case of a family with two or more children attending post-primary schools. On entering a post-primary school, books, excluding copy books, will cost about £10. While these books will bring a pupil to the end of the intermediate certificate course, he must provide copy books each year at a cost of about £1 a year. On entering the leaving certificate course, books, excluding copy books, will cost about £12. Any plan for free post-primary education must, I feel, provide for the supply of free books and accessories to those who need them.
Having stated the case for assistance in this regard it is necessary to consider how best, from an administrative point of view, a scheme of assistance may be implemented. My approach to this problem is, if possible, to avoid setting up a means test scheme, and to find the most flexible administrative procedure.
In my view, the best approach to the problem and the one most socially acceptable would be to operate the free book scheme through the headmaster of the school. This approach would have the advantage of being easy and economical to administer. In the aggregate, free books would not be supplied to more than 25 per cent of eligible pupils—eligible pupils being defined as those attending schools providing free tuition. The headmaster would know the pupils most in need of assistance and he would supply the books to these pupils and be reimbursed by the Department. Copy books to a maximum value of £1 per year would be allowed in each year of the course. Each school would be allocated a quota or a percentage of the total enrolment depending on the area in which the school is situated and, to some extent, on the fee charged in the previous year.
For example, secondary schools catering to a large degree for lower income group families in urban and rural areas and vocational schools would be given a higher than average percentage. It may be assumed that about 25 per cent of the entrants to post-primary schools would normally be eligible and this overall percentage would be regarded as a constant factor. The grant in respect of each individual pupil will vary in accord with the course followed by him but on average it might be reckoned at £8 for the first year of the intermediate certificate course and £4 for each of the two subsequent years; at £10 for the first year of the leaving certificate and £5 for the following year. The cost in the first financial year, 1967-68 is estimated at about £100,000.
In the lower income group there will also be a number of pupils whose particular family circumstances will be such that even with the provision of free tuition and free books the keeping of them at school will still be a hardship on their parents. When my scheme is in operation and I have had an opportunity to assess the extent of this problem, I shall have to see what special provision for such cases should be made.
I fully realise that provision for education does not stop at leaving certificate level and that any plan for equality of opportunity in education cannot ignore education at university level. In the proposals I have outlined already I have not made academic achievement a condition of assistance because my goal is to encourage all pupils to continue in post-primary education for as long as they can get value from it, in courses—academic, technical, commercial or apprentice— suited to their inclinations and aptitudes. Assistance at university level is however a different matter altogether. Here, I am satisfied that a high standard of educational attainment must be a prerequisite for assistance.
When I came to considering details of a scheme of assistance at this level, I found myself in the difficulty that we have a Commission on Higher Education examining all aspects of higher education. I felt that it would not be appropriate for me to work out a detailed scheme without awaiting the report of that Commission and studying whatever proposals in that regard they may decide to make. My present information is that the Commission hope to report in February. I propose, therefore, to wait until then before finalising my detailed scheme. In the meantime I will have whatever consultations may be necessary with the university authorities.
As the proposals contained in my scheme for post-primary will obviate the necessity for post-primary scholarships, I intend that schemes for the award of such scholarships be discontinued and that the moneys provided for them be devoted to other educational purposes. Accordingly scholarship examinations will not be held after 1967. Existing holders of scholarships in September, 1967, will continue to hold them until the end of the normal period of tenure.
TRANSPORT.
In the light of the Government decision to raise the school-leaving age to 15 by 1970 and the policy of providing up to three years post-primary education for all children, it will be absolutely essential to provide a State-supported transport system to post-primary schools. Full-scale attendance at post-primary schools could not be achieved in many areas without such a service because of the heavy burden which would fall on parents in respect of transport costs. Moreover, the rationalisation of post-primary educational facilities requires that we insist on reasonably sized units. But it will not be possible to adhere to the present policy of refusal to sanction smaller schools, which could not provide an adequate curriculum and would be uneconomic in terms of buildings, equipment and teachers, unless transport is provided to the larger centres.
State assistance towards transport costs will have to be provided in respect of pupils attending both types of post-primary school. Primary, vocational and secondary pupils often travel in the same bus. No new principle would be involved in State subsidisation of school transport as, in addition to the travel scholarships awarded by vocational education committees, the Department of Education already subsidises transport schemes in respect of national schools, special schools, and the new comprehensive schools, while Roinn na Gaeltachta subsidises school transport services in Gaeltacht areas.
One of the main findings of the Investment in Education Report was the great inequality based on social group and geographical location in the participation of children in post-primary education at all levels. I have already quoted the reference in the Report to inequality in participation due to social group.
With regard to the effect of geographical location, the Report includes statistics for the year 1962-63 which show the distribution of national school pupils (aged 11) by distance of the national school to the nearest post-primary school. They show that almost a quarter, that is, about 10,000 pupils, were more than five miles from the nearest post-primary school and about 4.5 per cent, or 2,000 pupils, were more than ten miles from the nearest post-primary school. These are the distances of the national schools, of course, and not the distances of the pupils' homes. The finding, however, is still valid.
In reference to this, the NIEC, in their comments on the Report, said: "If we are to move towards the ideal of equal educational opportunity for all, the causes of the present inequalities must as far as possible be removed". The underlying factor behind the proposal to establish a State-supported transport scheme is to remove inequalities based on geographical location. Progress with a view to widening the participation rate will not be achieved without a nationwide scheme.
A situation is now developing in which immediate action is required. There is first of all the position in regard to existing transport schemes run by local school authorities or local parents' associations. I should like at this juncture to pay the highest possible tribute to these public spirited citizens who have already organised transport schemes to post-primary schools and have with tremendous effort on their part raised funds towards financing them. It is being found increasingly difficult to maintain such schemes in operation in the face of rising costs and I am under severe pressure to come to their assistance financially.
In addition, the surveys of post-primary educational facilities to which I referred earlier highlight the need for the concentration of schools so that better facilities and greater opportunity may be available to all pupils. Proposals to this end inevitably raise questions in regard to transport and it will not be possible to get agreement on these proposals unless financial assistance towards the cost of transport is forthcoming. The transport problem is particularly acute in the counties designated as small farm areas, because of the nature of the terrain, the low level of incomes generally and the number of widely scattered small schools in these areas. The density of population is lowest in these areas, and the only economic way of providing post-primary facilities in them is by means of transport.
Having reviewed the whole position, I have come to the conclusion that the only effective way of providing transport to post-primary schools so as to ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children is for the Government to defray the full cost without any means test of transport for pupils living more than three miles from a post-primary school. It is very difficult at this stage to give a precise estimate of the cost involved but it is anticipated that for 1967-68 it would be about £300,000. When the scheme is fully operational in all areas of the country, the annual cost will probably reach £1,000,000. It is my intention that the scheme will come into operation as from 1st April, 1967.
In relation to this figure of cost it must be borne in mind that in the long term substantial savings will accrue in respect of buildings, teachers and school equipment. The erection of a substantial number of new schools will be avoided; existing teaching staffs can be utilised to greater advantage; costly school equipment will be used economically. This policy is in line with that suggested by Investment in Education and is supported by the NIEC comments on that report. It is a policy that is right on educational and on economic grounds.
In the costings of my scheme which I have given I have confined myself to items of direct cost. There will of course be additional charges by way of increased accommodation and equipment and increased numbers of teachers. I prefer to treat these as normal growth items within the context of a national commitment to education. It would be highly unrealistic to suggest that my proposals can be implemented other than by concrete arrangements for raising the money to meet them.
Every worthwhile development in the social and economic advancement of any nation calls for some sacrifice on the part of those best able to bear it —that is what we will be asking our people to accept in the implementation of these proposals.
In relation to my proposal, it must be borne in mind also that as Minister for Education and acting as a member of a responsible Government, I cannot place any Utopian scheme before the House. It is very easy to promise the sun, moon and stars when there is little prospect of your being called upon to implement such promises. When in September last I announced that I would introduce a scheme of free education the members of the principal Opposition Party told all and sundry that I was making a promise that would never be fulfilled. They asked where was the money going to come from. Suddenly it dawned on them that here was something that was going to be implemented and implemented in a responsible way. They then rushed out their policy for education and the scene changed over night. The country which was bankrupt in their eyes a few weeks ago is now so opulent that the buoyancy in revenue can be expected to be such as to pay for an education plan running into many millions without any resort to additional taxation.
I ask this House to endorse the proposals I have put before them and to say who is acting responsibly.