Before the debate was adjourned, I spoke about the penalties schools could incur by not establishing a board of management. Is it not the case that, if a vocational or Protestant school cannot be penalised, the only schools which can be under this system are Catholic voluntary and private schools? It would be strange if for the first time in this State there was a law which discriminated against Catholic schools. Will the Minister explain that?
The imposition of penalties has a net effect on the education a child receives. Our Constitution states that all children will be treated equally and are entitled to the same facilities and advantages. If some children are penalised because their masters did not put a board of management in place, is this not unconstitutional? I would like to hear the Minister's response and the legal advice she has obtained on this.
The role of the patron seems to be downgraded in the Bill. There are many references to the education boards consulting with various people but patrons are excluded. What is the explanation for that? Surely, it cannot be a conscious attempt to downgrade the role of the patron? If a member of staff is to be dismissed, it can be referred to the education board for a ruling. Surely, within a voluntary secondary school, for example, the role of the patron is to appoint a member of staff and in consultation with the board of management to ratify that appointment. Why should it be referred to a regional board if that member of staff is to be dismissed?
Another question arises as to the establishment of new schools. The Bill provides that any new school established must be built on property owned by the regional education board. Does that mean no group can establish a school without the property being owned by the regional education board? Why is that? Who will purchase this property? If it is not readily available for the establishment of a school, will the school be prevented from being formed because the regional education board does not own the property? If the property is available to some group prepared to build a school on it, will we deny it the right to do so? Is that in keeping with our Constitution which allows denominational groups to establish and operate their own educational facilities?
Ten regional education boards are proposed and the one for the Midlands would cover four counties and have a membership of 24 people. Of those, four would be public representatives. There is much disquiet that only four public representatives are deemed worthy to serve on the board. They have been elected by the public and should have a greater role in any such body. What about the four teachers appointed to the board? As it will cover four counties, how will we in Westmeath choose our one teacher to serve on the board? Will that teacher represent the primary sector, the vocational sector, the community college sector or the voluntary secondary sector? If we choose one from the primary level, does that mean four primary teachers will be on the board? Likewise, will there be parents on this regional board from the different types of schools? Who decides who will elect them and how they will be elected? The same applies to the boards of management, the patrons and the interested outsiders. Gender balance must also be maintained. Are we not taking an extremely difficult path which will make these mechanisms almost unworkable?
Coming from County Westmeath, I have a jaundiced view of vocational education committees and my colleagues understand why. Is it not crazy that there are 38 vocational education committees and that, while there are proposals to amalgamate some of them, many will be kept in place while regional education boards are established? Should the two sectors run in parallel or should we have one or the other? It is a topic worth debating.
On the role of the poor school principal in relation to this Bill, there are 3,200 principals at primary level and about 800 at second level. A typical principal in a five teacher primary school in a rural setting or small country town will now be burdened with more work. He must prepare, publish and distribute a school plan and an annual school report. I hope the latter will not be a recruitment document with glossy photographs; an advertising feature for the school. The principal is to identify the educational needs of his students. How is he to do this? How will he identify the needs of students who require special care? He must keep records. For how long? When will they be accessible to whoever is supposed to have access to them? He must also ensure parental involvement. How is he to liaise with parents on an almost full-time basis while doing his job? In the case of the principal of the five teacher primary school, he will have to teach 30 pupils at the same time.
This is supposed to be a document for the future strategy on education in Ireland. One crucial aspect for second level education in the future is school amalgamations in small towns. It is a thorny subject and the cause of endless difficulties. It is not clear how we should proceed with school amalgamations and how they will be resolved. In this document for the future there is no mention of them or how they should be dealt with. This topic should be addressed on Committee or Report Stage as second level education will greatly depend on how school amalgamations are negotiated. We can no longer tolerate two small secondary schools each with 200 pupils in small towns as they cannot offer the subject choices and range of activities that should be available to second level students. There is a need for such schools to amalgamate. The guidelines for school amalgamations should be laid down and included in the Bill. Will the Minister consider doing that?
While a number of points will be teased out on Committee Stage, I wish to refer to the withdrawal of recognition of schools. The Bill states that if recognition is withdrawn from a school the pupils can be taken into other schools, but what will happen to the teachers? That is not covered in the Bill. Will they be thrown on the scrap heap? Will they receive their salaries for the period the school is under review? If the school in question were operating independently, which I expect it would be, what would happen about accumulated expenses in terms of bills, a caretaker's salary and so on? Will those costs be covered? Those matters need to be clarified.