asked the Minister for Education if he is aware of the serious hardship caused to some students now enrolled for the domestic economy instructors' course by the revised notification of two leaving certificate honours for qualification for the May examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Domestic Economy Instructors Course.
45.
There is no question of students now being enrolled for the course the Deputy has in mind. The position is that each year there is a competition for entrance to the training colleges for teachers of home economics. Amongst the candidates are a number who are attending residential home economics colleges. It is to these latter the Deputy is referring and at no time was the entrance to the training course confined to them. In 1969 it was intimated that it was possible that grades over and above the pass leaving certificate standard might be sought at the 1970 entrance competition. Subsequently it was decided not to proceed with this requirement but at the beginning of 1971 it was definitely announced that for the 1972 competition certain higher grades would be sought. The only point that there could be at issue was whether higher grades would be sought in two or more subjects. The fact that the conductors of the residential colleges continued to accept girls without, apparently, any reference to the standard reached by them at the leaving certificate examination is not a matter the responsibility for which can be laid at the door of my Department. The Department, having given at the beginning of 1971 firm notice of its intention in relation to 1972 competition, merely laid down for that competition what in the context of higher grades was the minimum of 2 C's in higher papers.
However, in order to go some way towards meeting the case of these girls enrolled in the residential colleges who had not obtained the necessary grades I am prepared to arrange that they be admitted to the leaving certificate examination next June with a view to giving them a further opportunity of reaching the required standard.
As a further concession to them I am also prepared in the case of any one of them who reaches a very high standard at the practical and written tests which are held in April to waive for 1972 the 2 C requirements.
May I thank the Minister for his reconsideration of this matter. He has been most helpful on it, but surely the conductors of the residential courses could not have been that remiss as not to advise prospective students of the two qualifications needed?
They were not told.
Surely they were not that remiss.
The point was as I have indicated it was intimated in 1969 that it was possible that grades over and above the pass leaving certificate standard might be sought for the 1970 entrance competition that subsequently it was decided not to proceed with this requirement, but that at the beginning of 1971 it was definitely announced that for 1972 certain higher grades would be sought. The only point at issue here was whether it would be 2 C's or more than 2 C's. Therefore I think I have gone a reasonable distance now.
Surely the conductors of these residential courses would not have accepted students if they had been fully aware of the announcement of the revised qualifications. I must confess I find it quite unbelievable that they went ahead and accepted students without the two honours.
It was definitely stated that certain grades would be needed. It was not specifically mentioned that it would be 2 C's, but that was obviously to be understood from the announcement in the sense that 2 C's was the lowest standard for entry into higher education in any other sphere. While I admit that there might be grounds for some slight misunderstanding, at the same time, seeing that in the previous year we said these provisions might be brought into operation and the second year we said we would be requiring certain standards, I think I have met the case pretty fairly.
Would the Minister not agree that what he has given is an incomplete, in fact, inaccurate account, that the only notification the schools had was that a certain unspecified standard would be required. They were notified of that in January, 1971 but they received no further communication until a good deal later on the subject. Surely they were entitled, in the absence of any communication, to assume that for the second year this was not going to be applied. In fact in November of last year the Department asked the principal of at least one of these colleges to forward suggestions for revised entrance qualifications, a fact that is totally at variance with the suggestion that this had been settled at that time and that she should have known about it.
I do not accept that. At the beginning of 1971 it was definitely announced that for 1972 certain higher grades would be sought and I think this could not be misunderstood by anybody.
Is the Minister suggesting that this nun is lying when she writes to me:
Last November the Department of Education asked me to forward suggestions for revised entry qualifications.
Was she lying when she made that statement?
I am not going to argue on that point. I am only reporting what was announced——
The Minister misled the House.
——and I think I have fairly met the case.
Would the Minister not agree that these pupils——
Question No. 46.