asked the Minister for Education (a) the total number of senior cycle pupils; (b) the number of such pupils at VEC schools, and their percentage of the total; (c) the number of such pupils at schools in the free scheme, and their percentage of the total; and (d) the number of such pupils at fee-paying schools, and this percentage of the total.
Written Answers . - Senior Cycle Pupils .
184.
: The number of pupils in the senior cycle of all second level schools, secondary, secondary top, vocational, including regional technical colleges, comprehensive and community in the school-year 1976-77 was 86,929. The number of such pupils in vocational education committee schools and colleges was 19,058, that is 22.0 per cent of the total in senior cycle in all schools.
The "free scheme" is interpreted to refer to secondary schools under Catholic management and includes (a) day schools, (b) day and boarding schools and (c) boarding schools.
The total number of pupils in senior cycle in secondary schools under Catholic management was 60,987 and the number of these pupils in respect of whom the grant in lieu of tuition fees was paid was 56,142, that is 64.6 per cent of the total number of pupils in senior cycle in all schools in that year. The balance of the number of the pupils in these secondary schools in respect of whom the grant in lieu of tuition fees was not paid was 4,845, that is 5.6 per cent.