Vol. 408 No. 2
11 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for Education the moneys which have been allocated to schools for the education of pupils on the dangers of AIDS and AIDS awareness; whether special counsellors are being trained for this job; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
AIDS education resource materials for post-primary schools have been developed by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Health. The costs have been shared between the Departments. These materials have been provided to all post-primary schools free of charge. The design and printing costs of these materials have been borne by the Department of Health. During the years 1989, 1990 and 1991 my Department have allocated approximately £11,000 towards the cost of in-service days for teachers in relation to the development of the materials and their subsequent use in addition to the cost of substitution where necessary.
As I have mentioned, in-service days for teachers have been and are being held throughout the country on the use of the materials. In all 17 such seminars will be held by the end of this school year. A one-week summer school for teachers on drugs and AIDS will be organised this summer and further in-service days will be organised during the next school year.
To date about half of the post-primary schools in the country have been covered by the seminars and the indications from the schools are that all of them are making full use of the resource materials in developing their education programmes on AIDS.
I am satisfied from the reaction to the seminars that post-primary schools in general are using the materials.
I can only assume from the Minister's reply that she is not training special counsellors in this area. I would put it to the Minister that the AIDS situation in this country is now reaching epidemic proportions and the expenditure of £11,000 is grossly inadequate to deal with this matter. Surely the Minister would agree that this is an emergency and special counsellors should be appointed to speak to schools around the country on this very serious problem before it worsens considerably?
First, I do not share the Deputy's view that teachers are not willing to participate in in-service courses. The teachers are very willing and are doing a very good job. I would be dismayed to think the Deputy thinks otherwise. Second, £11,000 was the cost of the materials each year. I also said that there was replacement aid for each teacher who wishes to go on a-course in connection with drugs or AIDS. That is a cost which would have to be quantified school by school. I am satisfied that the teachers in the schools who have. responsibility are carrying out their duties satisfactorily.
In addition to information on drugs and AIDS, is the Minister also including information about the abuse of alcohol as the threshold in relation to the abuse of alcohol is becoming progressively lower and has spread into the upper levels of primary classes?
Yes. There is a seminar and courses coming up in the summer relating to alcohol abuse.
The Minister said that she is satisfied in general that the materials are being used by teachers in post-primary schools. Could she expand on that by telling the House if the information and training seminars are being targeted at particular teachers in schools or is it open to all teachers to take up the offer of in-service training?
Let me ask the Minister also if she could indicate at what point in the school curriculum information on AIDS and drugs is given to the pupils? Will she consider the feasibility of addressing this question in relation to the later years in the primary schools where there are children of 12 and 13 years of age who may also benefit from the information concerned?
At present the programme is directed at pupils in post-primary schools but the matter is constantly being reviewed. The Deputy asked if it is open to all teachers to attend seminars or in-service courses, but in general it is those teachers who accept responsibility for this matter in schools who express a wish to attend such seminars but if any teacher expresses an interest in addressing the issue in their classroom I am sure the school manager will be very glad to release them and we in turn will be very glad to cover the cost of a replacement teacher. In reply to the Deputy's question as to which heading covers the matter it is left up to the manager of the school to decide. When the programme was first introduced we sent out letters to school managers suggesting the kind of letter they could send out to parents. We did not say that it should be covered under a certain heading, rather we left it up to the school manager to decide. Some have decided that the topic should be dealt with in social awareness courses and others in civics. If we were to give a direction that a subject should be dealt with under a particular heading, this would be seen as centralised control.
In reply to the Deputy's earlier question as to whether the programme is being availed of in second-level schools, I always ask the principal of the school that I am visiting if they are availing of the AIDS programme and under what heading it is covered. They then respond. I am satisfied that there is a steady takeup of the programme in the schools. We will consider the question of whether to introduce the programme in primary schools.
A final question from Deputy Garland.
I want to make it clear that I do not want to impugn the good faith and dedication of teachers who are doing their best, but I put it to the Minister that there is a need for greater liaison between her Department and the Department of Health. I suggest that she should seek more help from the Department of Health and the assistance of special counsellors who are both educators and health experts in fighting this terrible disease.
The programme was devised in liaison with the Department of Health. Indeed, Members of the House will remember the furore which ensued at that time. The materials were prepared with the Minister for Health, Deputy O'Hanlon, and his officials. The programme was based on the health data available, bearing in mind the need for good educational practice. Teachers will know their pupils far better and be more familiar with the ambience of a classroom than a person brought into the classroom setting. As I said, I am satisfied that the professionals in the classroom are carrying out their job very well.
