I propose to answer Questions Nos. 106 and 107 together.
The principle of gender equality underpins all the initiatives undertaken by the Department of Education. Equality was one of the basic principles underpinning the White Paper, "Charting Our Education Future", and statutory underpinning is given to this principle in the Universities Bill, 1996, the Education Bill, 1997 and other legislation in place in the education area.
It is the policy of my Department to promote gender equity in education and to eliminate sexism and sex-stereotyping. A working group in my Department monitors and co-ordinates activities relating to the equality of opportunity for girls and boys. Equality issues in the areas of curriculum, in-career development, employment, administration, inspection and management are monitored regularly and improvements will continue to be made on an ongoing basis in all areas of the education system.
All curricula, textbooks and examination papers are gender proofed, and research into gender issues has been undertaken by the Department, some third level institutions and the Economic and Social Research Institute.
All institutions participating in ESF aided programmes are encouraged to pay particular attention to equal opportunities in the planning of courses and the recruitment of trainees and to the need to expose both sexes to a broader range of occupational experiences than those traditionally offered. The criteria for admission of students to programmes are applied equally to both sexes.
As part of the strategic management initiative's increased focus on training, a wide range of training courses, including equality training courses, are available to officials in my Department.
Equality modules are featured in pre-service training programmes for staff in schools and colleges. All inservice courses funded by the Department are required to contain a gender equality module. Twenty-one primary teachers have been trained as trainers in gender equality issues and an information pack containing guidelines for teachers on the promotion of equal opportunities was circulated to all primary schools in 1994. In addition, to assist persons organising summer courses in organising effective gender equality inputs, regional seminars are organised in advance of the summer programme to explore appropriate in-service strategies. The seminars are led by expert trainers in the area of gender equality. Finally, a number of third level institutions currently offer courses in women's studies.
While all initiatives taken in my Department are targeted equally at women and men, a number of specific projects have been undertaken to improve the level of gender equality in the education system.