asked the Minister for Education, with reference to a reply of 6th February, the number of young persons between fourteen and sixteen years of age in the Republic who are receiving post-primary education at secondary or vocational schools.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Post-Primary Education.
36.
The number of young persons between 14 and 16 years of age receiving full-time post-primary education in February, 1962, was 32,268 in the 14-15 age group and 25,662 in the 15-16 age group. Of these, 4,329 and 2,152 respectively were following post-primary courses in national schools.
I take it from the Minister's reply that so far as vocational schools are concerned, these are full-time pupils?
Yes. Full-time courses are followed by 64 per cent of the 14-15 age group, some of them in national schools, primary courses and post-primary courses, others in vocational schools and others in secondary schools. They are all in full-time education.
37.
asked the Minister for Education, for each of the last three years, the total number of pupils who obtained the primary certificate in schools in County Roscommon, and the number of such children who continued their education at secondary or vocational schools in the same years.
The total number of pupils who obtained the primary certificate in schools in County Roscommon in each of the past three years was 679, 723 and 728, respectively. The records of my Department relate to numbers of pupils and not to individual pupils entering the various schools. I am, therefore, not in a position to furnish the information sought in the second part of the Deputy's question.
If the Minister is in a position to give the overall figures for the country of the numbers getting post-primary education in either secondary or vocational schools, surely he is able to give the figures for those in each county who are getting post-primary education also?
It is not easy because people from one county may go to a residential school in another county.
Should the teachers in the different schools not be able to supply information which would be of great interest, I am sure, to the Minister himself, if he took it for any particular county? Surely the Minister should be able, through the rolls in the different schools and with the aid of the teachers, to find out what the information is at least for the previous year, if not for the past three years?
It would require knowing the school leavers from national schools in County Roscommon and knowing in each secondary school in the country how many people from Roscommon have entered as well as those in schools in Roscommon.
May I point out to the Minister that what he should do is to ask the local teacher to go to the roll of sixth standard and those who got the primary certificate in schools in County Roscommon and to say where are those children at present, how many are in vocational, how many are in secondary schools and so on? I do not think any of the teachers— certainly none of those with whom I discussed it—would feel they would have any difficulty in giving that information. In those circumstances, would the Minister have this matter reconsidered?
I shall consider it, but I do not think I could regard the figures as accurate statistics unless every teacher was certain about what had happened to the pupils on leaving the schools.