Written Answers. - UN Conventions.
Dick Spring
Question:
84
Mr. Spring
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the way in which his Department gives effect to Articles 28 and 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7232/00]
Articles 28 and 29 of the UN convention on the rights of the child are given full effect in this State and have been for a number of years. The articles are complementary to the provisions of the Constitution, in particular Article 42 which relates to education, and to the recently enacted Education Act, 1998. The aims and objective of the articles will be given further statutory support by the Education (Welfare) Bill, 1999 which is currently being debated by the Select Committee on Education and Science.
Article 28 of the convention relates to the right to education and the State's duty to ensure free compulsory primary education; the encouragement of different forms of secondary education accessible to every child and accessibility to third level education for all. Article 42 of the Constitution obliges the State to provide for free primary education. For many years now the State has fulfilled this constitutional obligation through the public funding of a wide network of primary schools. At the level of the individual family the School Attendance Acts impose a statutory obligation on parents to ensure that their children attend a national or other suitable school. It is recognised that the system established by the School Attendance Acts is not as effective as we would wish in ensuring that all children attend school, or otherwise receive at least a minimum education. The Education (Welfare) Bill, 1999, proposes significant reform to this system. The Bill in particular proposes to provide for a comprehensive, national system for ensuring that children of compulsory school-going age attend school. The provisions of the Bill will be implemented by a dedicated national authority, the National Educational Welfare Board, and by educational welfare officers appointed by the board at school level.
My Department also provides funding and supports to a wide variety of post-primary schools which operate in accordance with their particular ethos and traditions.
In general the Education Act, 1998 provides further statutory underpinning for the education system. It specifically provides that one of its primary objectives is to give practical effect to the constitutional rights of children to education. The Act, in setting out the duties and responsibilities of the Minister for Education and Science, schools and teachers gives further statutory support to the rights of students and their parents at both primary and post-primary levels.
Access to higher education, which is also addressed in Article 28 of the convention, is facilitated by significant public spending at all levels of higher education, by the fact that most undergraduate students in the sector have free access to courses and by the payment of maintenance grants to those students who need such support.
Ireland promotes and encourages international co-operation on education issues at a number of levels, as is also required by Article 28 of the convention. This is done at EU level with our EU partner states, multi-lateral co-operation with international bodies such as UNESCO and OECD, bilateral relations with individual states, such as US-Ireland, East-West relations with Great Britain and North-South relations with Northern Ireland.
Article 29 of the convention relates to the aims of education in respect of the personal, mental and physical development of children, preparing them for adult life and fostering in them respect for their parents, their culture and the culture of others. I am satisfied that through the school's curriculum the resources provided to schools and the quality and dedication of the teachers in schools, the education system plays its part fully in helping children grow into responsible adults, capable of taking their place in civil society and making their contribution to the maintenance of a democratic society based on principles of equality and respect for others.
