asked the Minister for Education the number of courses being conducted by vocational education committees with funds from the European Social Fund; if a science technician course at the College of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin is so funded; if there is an examination on the theoretical and practical work of the course with certificates showing subjects passed and class hours spent on each subject; and if a pass in this examination admits to other technician courses.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Vocational School Courses.
10.
There are 199 courses of this type being conducted in the current session. A science technician course at Kevin Street College of Technology is included in the total indicated. This course aims at providing the skills necessary so that the trainees on completion can seek jobs as laboratory technicians. Terminal examination and certification are not normally associated with such courses nor do they normally lead on to other courses. The college are prepared to provide each trainee with a statement of his attendance at the course.
Has the Minister received any communication expressing concern about these courses?
To my knowledge, no. I am not saying they have not arrived in the Department.
Is the Minister aware that some people are concerned that the money being spent on these courses is being wasted if some of the procedures suggested in my question are not being carried out?
There may be a little bit of confusion about the intention of these courses. They are not necessarily part of the structures of formal education in the narrow sense but it is intended, in the indication by the EEC, that the money should be used to provide retraining for people who have become redundant in other spheres. There is a recommendation that there should be a gap between leaving school and taking up one of these courses, but they are not courses with a certain end object in view. They are retraining. There is, of course, an end object in view of laboratory technicians but most of those receiving these courses are free to go on and pursue normal courses with certification at the end. These are not in themselves certification courses.
While I accept that the raising of the general level of technician knowledge is desirable, would the Minister not be concerned if there was a general belief among people, particularly students concerned in these courses, that they are purely stop-gap courses, ways for using up this money without any proper educational objective and without any future?
I would certainly be concerned if there was misapprehension on the part of people taking these courses as to the aim of the courses. There are 199 courses. I am not sure what the implications are of circularising people involved in the course but I will see that the aim of the courses is circulated at least to the institutions where the courses are being held, if not to individual students.