asked the Minister for Education the steps which have been taken to implement the Joint Committee on Women's Rights recommendation that all new schools be fully co-educational.
640.
Written Answers. - Co-educational Schools.
639.
asked the Minister for Education the number of fully co-educational schools built or currently in planning since the Joint Committee on Women's Rights publication of the Interim Report on Education.
641.
asked the Minister for Education the steps which have been taken to amalgamate post-primary schools where this would allow for more efficient class scheduling and better use of existing facilities.
642.
asked the Minister for Education the steps which have been taken to allow for the interchange of pupils and/or teachers in order to assure that girls have equal opportunity to take advanced courses in mathematics and the hard sciences at the leaving certificate level.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 639, 640, 641 and 642 together. When the Joint Committee on Women's Rights produced its Interim Report on Education last October, I was pleased to note the close alignment of its views with my own and our mutual ambition of eliminating sexism and sex-stereotyping from education. In view of the work which I had already initiated in this area the committee's report was most timely. I promised that their recommendations would be taken extremely seriously and that as many as possible would be implemented. The following is the position on recommendations (1), (9) and (10) which are those relevant to the questions under reply:
Co-educational Schools
From the point of view of primary schools the Programme for Action 1984-87 (para. 3.13) states that proposals for new schools on a co-educational basis will be encouraged and the reorganisation of school provision on such a basis will be facilitated". The regulations governing the organisation of primary schools on co-educational lines require that boys and girls be taught together in mixed classes.
Since the publication of the Oireachtas report there are eight new primary schools at the planning stage, which it is intended will operate as fully co-educational schools.
The position regarding post-primary schools is that new `greenfield' schools in courses of being planned or under construction are co-educational. Amalgamations of already existing schools under the rationalisation programme will also nearly always involve the incorporation of single sex schools with new co-educational schools.
Since the publication of the Oireachtas report in October last decisions on the provision of two new `greenfield' schools have been taken and these will be co-educational. Decisions on the provision of four new post-primary schools have also been made which result from replacement through amalgamation of existing schools. These will be co-educational.
Amalgamation of post-primary schools
My Department have an ongoing programme for the amalgamation of post-primary schools under paragraph 5.12 of the Programme for Action 1984/87. A number of decisions have already been made involving the creation of co-educational schools through amalgamation of existing schools.
Interchange of Pupils/Teachers
Since the issue of the Colley letter in 1966, my Department have an active policy of encouraging inter-school co-operation involving the exchange of pupils and teachers with the object of broadening the range of subjects available to pupils. In addition, my Department are now preparing a list of those girls' schools which do not provide the opportunity of taking the subjects mentioned and the matter will then be taken with the individual school authorities with a view to remedying the situation.