Michael Ring
Question:50 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason projects under the early school leavers initiative were rejected in view of the fact that this is a key area of priority within education. [25869/98]
Written Answers - Early School Leavers.
The number of projects which could be accommodated within the pilot phase of the early school leavers initiative was limited by the level of funding available to support the initiative at this time.
A total of 115 consortia made application for inclusion in the initiative and each application was examined by a selection committee. A total of 14 project areas were selected for inclusion under the present phase of the initiative. Funding of £3.62 million is being made available to the initiative over the coming two years.
The key objective was to select strategic pilot projects in urban and rural areas of disadvantage which will develop models of good practice with a view to their integration, after structured evaluation, into mainstream policy and practice. The operation of the pilot phase of the initiative will be kept under ongoing review. The question of expanding the initiative will be considered in the light of experience with the models now being tested under the pilot phase.
The Deputy will agree that mainstreaming this initiative, at this stage, would defeat the very purpose of the pilot project and undermine our ability to identify and promote best practice.