asked the Minister for Education his exact position regarding the granting of senior cycles in the vocational schools at Ballinamore, County Leitrim, Caherciveen, County Kerry and Borris, County Carlow; and if he will make a statement regarding requests for senior cycles in vocational schools in general.
Written Answers. - Vocational Schools Senior Cycles.
198.
A special arrangement applies in Ballinamore for co-operation with the boys' and girls' secondary schools in accordance with which 26 per cent of the enrolment of all the pupils in the centre following the general school course is deemed to be appropriate to the vocational school. All the students following the secretarial course are enrolled in the vocational school.
Caherciveen vocational school has had a senior cycle course since about 1970, when vocational schools first commenced providing such courses with the approval of the Department of Education.
County Carlow VEC recently sought approval for a senior cycle at Borris, and this has been sanctioned on a provisional basis as from September 1978.
Requests for senior cycles are dealt with on the basis of how best to serve the needs of the pupils in an area. A vocational school would need to be of sufficient size and have an adequate number of pupils seeking the senior cycle course to enable it to provide an adequate curriculum and teaching facilities for these pupils.