Micheál Martin
Question:71 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Education the way in which the £1 million allocated in the Estimates towards a gender equality pilot project will be spent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4580/96]
Written Answers. - Equality Projects Funding.
A sum of £1,027,000 has been approved in the 1996 Estimates for the funding of activities to promote equality of opportunity in education. I propose to use this funding to continue some of the equality initiatives already under way in my Department. These initiatives include:
(a) The Physics and Chemistry Intervention Projects, the purpose of which is to introduce these subjects into schools where they are currently unavailable. The schools in question are girls' schools for the most part.
(b) A project offering compensatory education programmes for women seeking to re-enter the education system. These programmes are designed to enable women to meet educational deficits as they endeavour to return to further/higher education.
(c) A transition year project in coeducational schools, which is being run in partnership with schools in Belgium and the Netherlands. The outcome of this project will be the development of teaching materials which will be used in all three countries.
(d) Participation in an exhibition in Cork Regional Technical College to promote engineering and technology as career options for girls.
(e) Development of teaching materials for use in the delivery of inservice training to primary teachers.
(f) Curriculum interventions in single-sex boys' schools.
I also propose to develop projects relating to:
(a) actions with parents, including the development of information materials and support for parents, especially mothers of pre-school children, wishing to participate in education;
(b) support for voluntary or community women's education groups;
(c) women in educational management.
A number of the projects listed above will attract aid from the European Social Fund under the Equal Opportunities Actions in the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development.