Question:
599 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the supports which are envisaged for the voluntary and community education sector in the provision of literacy classes to adults. [11411/01]
Written Answers - Adult Literacy Service.
Funds provided by my Department for a national adult literacy service are disbursed through the vocational education committees. The national development plan provides for an investment of £73.8 million to provide for an estimated 113,000 learners over the period 2000-2006. The provision in the education sector for adult literacy has increased from a base of £850,000 in 1997 to £10.677 million in 2001.
People catered for have more than trebled from 5,000 to over 17,000. Tuition is provided in 125 adult literacy schemes accommodated in over 560 venues. This is being supplemented by the development of TV and radio literacy awareness and tuition programmes, allied with free learner resources packs and a helpline operated by the National Adult Literacy Agency, so that people can also learn in their own homes.
Volunteers play a major role in the delivery of adult literacy services – over 3,700 people provide one to one tuition which is co-ordinated by adult literacy organisers employed by vocational education committees.
My Department also provides grants to vocational education committees for community education, to support the provision of adult basic education, free or at nominal cost. This is generally used through the allocation by vocational education committees of teaching hours to a wide range of community interests. In addition, under the new back to education initiative, which will come on-stream shortly, providing a major expansion of part-time options in further education, it is intended that 10% of all expansion under the initiative will be earmarked exclusively for the community education sector. The initiative can be used as an important bridge for literacy students to more intensive options. A working group is finalising a framework for the initiative with a view to it coming on-stream in the autumn.
Question:
600 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will ensure that inservice training provided by the National Adult Literacy Agency is fully available to all corporate members, both voluntary and statutory; and if third level accreditation for all literacy organisers and tutors will be accessible. [11412/01]
My Department provides funds to the NALA for a range of inservice training initiatives in the field of adult literacy. These include: literacy awareness training; an NUI diploma provided by NALA in partnership with St. Patrick's College Maynooth, which is aimed at the integration of literacy tuition into vocational training programmes provided by FÁS, CERT, Teagasc and Youthreach instruction staff and was designed specifically with this target group in mind; and an NALA/Waterford Institute of Technology national certificate for tutors which is available to all literacy tutors. The NALA/Waterford Institute of Technology national certificate and diploma programmes are aimed specifically at adult literacy organisers.
Modules of the NALA/WIT accredited courses are also being made available locally throughout the country on a single subject certification basis in order to increase local access.
In addition, the option is available to literacy schemes to validate their initial training for tutors and volunteers with the Waterford Institute of Technology. Workplace literacy training is also provided, certified through the Open College Network.
The key objective is to ensure that literacy practitioners across the system have access to relevant ongoing training to upgrade their skills. These developments are allied with the imple mentation of a quality framework devised with a range of transnational partners.
Question:
601 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide resources to primary and secondary schools, particularly in the areas of greatest disadvantage, to support adults with literacy problems. [11413/01]
Funds provided by my Department for a national adult literacy service are disbursed through the vocational education committees. The national development plan provides for an investment of £73.8 million to provide for an estimated 113,000 learners over the period 2000-2006. The provision in the education sector for adult literacy has increased from a base of £850,000 in 1997 to £10.677 million in 2001.
Tuition is provided through the service to more than 17,000 adults in over 560 venues throughout the country. This is being supplemented by the development of TV and radio literacy awareness and tuition programmes, allied with free learner resources packs and a helpline operated by the National Adult Literacy Agency, so that people can also learn in their own homes. As many as 21 vocational education committees now provide family learning programmes, providing literacy help for both adults and children as part of the suite of options and these are continuing to expand. Such programmes usually provide for integrated collaboration between the adult education service, participating parents and local schools.
Referral networks are operated by the vocational education committees which link the adult literacy service with schools, FÁS, welfare, health and employment services, libraries, area partnerships, community groups and employer interests. The objective of the networks is to promote awareness of the service, to provide a structured mechanism for the identification of area needs and the referral of those in need to the service.
My Department also provides grants to vocational education committees for community education to support the provision of adult basic education free or at nominal cost. This is generally used through the allocation by vocational education committees of teaching hours to a wide range of community interests.