Vol. 250 No. 5
asked the Minister for Education if he will arrange that prescribed school text-books should be standardised as far as possible, so that such text-books can be passed on from one child to another, thereby obviating the excessive expense to parents caused by frequent changes of prescribed texts.
56.
asked the Minister for Education if, in view of the high cost of school text-books, he will arrange, in consultation with the school authorities, a system under which parents or guardians are given adequate advance notice of the texts required by their children, so that they can spread the purchase of these books over a period of time.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 56 together.
In recent years, new curricula have been introduced in primary and post-primary schools. These curricula, which have been welcomed by teachers and school authorities, provide for a wide choice of text-books and reading material so that individual teachers may select texts most suitable for their particular pupils.
Texts for the certificate examinations are prescribed only in the case of the literary subjects. Many of these prescribed texts consist of anthologies which contain the courses for a period of years. The other prescribed texts are repeated at regular intervals and normally these texts are announced at least a year in advance.
Money is allocated to schools to enable them to pay grants towards the cost of text-books for necessitous pupils.
The Minister mentions that money is available to schools to enable them to pay grants, but is he aware that there is widespread dissatisfaction at the manner in which grants are administered and that some schools regard the possession of medical cards as the criteria for allowing free books?
I am aware that when any scheme is introduced there is always dissatisfaction on the part of people who are not benefiting. In this case, there was no real complaint before when nobody was benefiting.
Is the Minister aware that the discretion rests with school managers in this matter? Further, is he aware that when an application is made by a school for, say, a hundred books, approval is given by the Department for only 50? Therefore, is it not ludicrous to say that discretion is left to the manager when in fact the Department make up their own mind about it? Is he aware of this fact?
I am not aware of it. The discretion is with the managers or the authorities of the schools.
Why leave it to their discretion when their approval for the free books is disregarded? This is the point that is at issue.
I am not aware that is
This is happening in Dublin city. One manager found 50 pupils were entitled to free books but the Department said "No, we will give approval for 25".
The Minister was Minister for Education for some time and perhaps it is fair to ask him this question. Is he aware that in other western European countries there is a standard text-book in each language, in Latin, Greek, French and German, going right through the literature, and that in every state of the United States there is a similar standard text-book in English literature which covers the subject from Anglo-Saxon up to modern times? This takes the pupils right through their secondary school course and is an enormous saving to parents.
I am not aware whether the position is as stated by the Deputy, but, if it is so, I would be very much surprised; it would strike me as being very bad educational practice.
Surely the Minister is not going to tell us he has a better educational system than they have in France or Germany?
We have one of the best educational systems in the world. Anybody who does not know that does not know what is going on.
Surely the Minister is not going to tell us we have a better educational system than they have in France or Germany?
The educational system is not in question.
I did not get an answer to the second part of my supplementary. Is the Minister aware that the possession of a medical card by the parents of children is being used in many Dublin schools as a criterion to decide whether or not they are permitted free books, and does he regard it as satisfactory? Would he not admit it is a most humiliating way to treat children?
I have heard it said this is being used, but I know the Department of Education do not accept the possession of a medical card as the criteria for eligibility under this scheme.
Would the Minister comment on what I told him about the applications being sent in by the managers and not being accepted by the Department?
That is a separate question.
I am not aware of that being so. I am not saying the Deputy is wrong but I am not aware of it.
If I bring specific cases to the Minister's attention will he have them investigated?
The Minister for Education will certainly look into any case the Deputy brings forward.
Could we have a denial of this then?
I am not in a position to confirm or deny it.
Is it not the situation that the Department of Education give a limited amount of money to each school and in most cases much less than is required for the purpose of buying books?
We cannot blame the school managers.
