Gay Mitchell
Question:44 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Science the further discussions, if any, he has had with the 101 applicants who were not successful in the early school leaver initiatives. [8168/99]
Written Answers. - Early School Leavers.
I have had discussions with a number of groups who were unsuccessful in their applications to participate in the current phase of the eight to 15 year old early school leavers initiative.
The number of projects which could be accommodated within the pilot phase of this initiative was limited by the level of funding available and the need to make meaningful resource allocations to those projects which were selected.
A total of 14 project areas have been selected for inclusion in the present phase of the initiative. Funding of £3.68 million is being made available to the initiative over the two school years 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
A management committee comprised of representatives of my Department and outside agencies has been established to oversee the operation of this phase of the initiative. A project co-ordinator has been appointed to work with the selected projects in developing the programme.
The purpose of the current pilot phase of the initiative is to test models of response to the problem of early school leaving. The key objective is to select strategic pilot projects in urban and rural areas of disadvantage which will test 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 is being kept under ongoing review. The question of expanding the initiative will be considered in the light of experience gained with the models now being tested. In the event of any such expansion being undertaken, I can assure the Deputy that consideration will be given to those projects which were unsuccessful on this occasion.
The provisions of the budget will allow my Department to support a range of activities to reduce the level of unqualified school leaving. In addition, the Education (Welfare) Bill will put in place a national framework to address this vitally important issue.