Introduction
Thank you for your invitation to address your Annual Congress.
We have a common interest – improving educational outcomes for all our pupils.
In my first year as Minister for Education and Skills I have been abundantly clear that this is my main objective.
It can be achieved only with your help and against the background of severe economic difficulties.
You don’t need me to remind you of those difficulties.
You see every day evidence of the effects of job losses, reductions in pay and cuts in public spending.
We all wish it were otherwise.
Yet 3,200 primary schools, big and small, urban and rural, open their doors to over 500,000 children every day.
Throughout the school year.
Of course there are problems.
Of course there are emergencies.
But you respond to them.
And you solve them.
No fuss.
No drama.
No headlines.
No shutdowns.
Yes, young children still cry about school.
But, unlike old days, they now cry when they cannot go to school.
I salute you for the work that you do and the hope you inspire in your pupils, despite our present economic circumstances.�
I also pay tribute to you for the manner in which you have responded positively to our literacy and numeracy campaign and to our reforms in general.
I want to talk in detail about that reform agenda today.
Economy
But, before I do so, I need to refer again to the difficult budgetary position, and show how stability has been achieved over the last year.
Your congress will understandably focus on the reductions and constraints in resources, which affect the work that you do each day.
But we cannot talk about the funding of the education system in isolation from the overall financial and budgetary context.
Despite the good progress we have made in reducing spending the gap between taxes and spending is still a staggering 18 thousand million euro each year.
I regularly hear calls for stimulus to our economy.
We must be clear – the €18bn we are borrowing this year is an enormous stimulus programme.
A stimulus programme that funds our teachers and doctors, our school buildings and sports grants, our teacher training colleges, and our social welfare system.
But a deficit of this size threatens the very existence and solvency of our state.
It is precisely because our finances are in such a weak position that only the EU, ECB and IMF are willing to lend to us.
No other lender is willing to take the risk with Ireland.
That is a measure of how far this country has fallen.
That is what it means to lose the economic independence of the republic.
That is why terms and conditions apply.
When I hear appeals at this congress or elsewhere for reversals of budget measures or calls for increased investment in education, it worries me that the gravity of the fiscal crisis is still not fully understood.
Let me tell you my dilemma. The unallocated deficit in the education budget for 2013 is €77m, and €147m for 2014.
€77m I have to find by the time the next budget is published in December 2012.
€77m which I’m asking your union to help me find in the education sector.
There are no easy solutions to this challenge.
As you are aware, almost 80% of the current budget in education is allocated to pay and pensions.
This Government has protected education as much as it can.
Far greater reductions in the number of public servants are being made in other sectors relative to those in schools.
But there are limits on the number of teaching posts we can afford.
Take our smaller schools as an example of the choices and challenges that must be faced-
An issue that I know is a major one for your congress.
The Government fully recognises that small schools are an important part of the social fabric of rural communities.
They will continue to be a major feature of our education landscape.
However, this does not mean that small schools can stand still or never have their staffing levels changed to something that is more affordable and sustainable in difficult and challenging times.
Teachers in small schools cannot be immune from the requirement that is being asked of all public servants to deliver our public services on a reduced level of resources.
The road to restoring our economy contains many more challenges, which we can overcome together.
Stability
But some progress has been achieved over the last twelve months.
When this Government was elected just over twelve months ago, the country had seen no growth in 4 years.
For the first time since 2007, last year we saw modest growth in our economy.
Unemployment had also increased alarmingly – from 4.4% in December 2004, to 14.7% in December 2010.
A lot of work remains to be done, but that figure has stabilised, and is down slightly to 14.3% as of the end of March.
The Action Plan on Jobs published by this Government aims to build on that stability, and help ensure that more Irish people get back to work.
And our stability is not solely focussed on headline national figures – it is being achieved through small changes right across our country.
We have seen some positive announcements recently. The Paypal investment of 1000 jobs in Dundalk has dominated headlines.
But all over the country companies, large and small, are increasingly pledging to create more jobs in the coming months and years.
These are real jobs, that will allow real people to find stability and recovery in their own lives.
To pay bills.
To raise children.
To live, rather than merely struggling to survive.
Similarly, our exports remain strong, showing that both multinational and indigenous companies are producing top quality products in Ireland.
They can help us build our way towards recovery.
When Irish companies secure more contracts as part of trade missions to China, to the US, to India and to the rest of Europe, each of these contracts feeds into our recovery.
And increases our tax revenues.
And helps get people back to work.
Step by step, stability is being achieved.
The job of work for the coming year is to build on that stability, and build a real recovery.
Referendum
One more significant step in cementing this progress will be signing up for the stability treaty.
That is why the referendum is so important.
A Yes vote is a key step back to regaining our independence.
A Yes vote is a step out of our economic strait-jacket.
Ireland derives enormous benefit from membership of the EU, not just in terms of the significant funding we receive, which benefits teachers and learners across our education system, but also in other areas.
The EU Lifelong Learning programme allows:
§ over 18,500 Irish third- level students and lecturing staff to participate in Erasmus educational exchanges
§ around 500 schools and 150 adult education organisations to participate in various European partnerships
§ 1,100 teachers and future teachers will also be given the opportunity to participate in the Comenius mobility programme, targeted towards schools
Between 2007 and 2013, the Department will receive European Social Fund aid of approximately €130 million – funding which is used to tackle early school leaving, support people with a disability, and enhance the employability of young persons facing social exclusion.
The development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) will lead to enhanced mobility for students and workers across Europe as countries reference their national qualifications frameworks to the EQF.
Ireland has placed research and innovation at the heart our economic and jobs strategies.
We are currently doing very well in terms of success in attracting EU research funding, with nearly €400m already received by Irish researchers and companies since 2007.
We are targeting a further drawdown of €200m over the next two years.
I don’t believe anyone can argue that our membership of the EU has not been good for Ireland, and for our education system.
The Stability Treaty is about ensuring long-term security, recovery, growth and jobs, for the whole of Europe.
It’s about a common currency that is solid and strong.
An Ireland at the heart of a stable Europe will have greatly improved prospects for recovery.
It’s about confidence abroad, about maintaining and enhancing the reputation we’ve been rebuilding.
And it’s about making sure we have access to the money that allows us to continue to fund our education system, and our other public services.
We’re determined to return to normal market funding next year – to raise money on our own again, just as we did before.
Markets need to know there’s a backup in the form of the European
Stability Mechanism.
That backup will ensure a strong euro, shared by 17 sovereign states.
We can only access that mechanism if we ratify this Treaty on 31 May 2012.
We hope and intend not to need the ESM, but Ireland cannot afford to be excluded from it.
Europe has been a positive force for Ireland, and a positive force for our education system.
I believe it will continue to be a positive force in our society, and that passing the treaty is a vital step in solidifying our stability, and moving towards recovery and job creation.
Forum on Patronage
The INTO was the first group to call for the establishment of a forum on school patronage.
It did so ten years ago, so it is particularly fitting that the Report of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary sector be published today.
Having a school system which can cater adequately for demand for pluralism and diversity is a priority for our Government.
That is why I established the independent Forum, within my first few days in office.
I would like to thank Professor John Coolahan and his colleagues, Dr Caroline Hussey and Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather for their dedication and hard work during the past year.
I would also like to thank those who made submissions to the Forum, some 247 in total, including the INTO.
Your engagement was vital.
As you know everyday when you look across your classrooms, our nation is changed and changing - both in terms of the greater diversity of religious beliefs and the multicultural composition of the population.
Our primary schools need to reflect this transformed society and provide for increased diversity. At the heart of this is parental choice.
I would encourage you to read the Report of the Forum, which is available on the Department of Education and Skills website.
I will summarise its findings briefly here.
The recommendations can be broadly divided into three key areas:
Divesting patronage where there is a stable population and demand for diversity of schools
Promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, including ‘Stand Alone’ schools where divesting patronage to another body is not an option
Dealing with Irish medium primary schools
The Advisory Group cautions against a ‘big bang’ approach and advises that change of patronage should happen in a phased way, through the adoption of a catchment approach, taking account of the preferences of parents.
The report recommends that phase one of this work would involve examining school patronage in 43 towns and 4 Dublin areas.
These areas were identified by the Department in 2010, arising from a request by the Catholic Church, as likely to have substantial demand for diversity.
The recommendations provide food for thought for all of us.
That is why I am asking the Education Partners, including the INTO, and interested parties to examine this report and take time to reflect on and digest the recommendations.
I am also studying the report’s recommendations. I will outline my official response next month.
As per the commitment in the Programme for Government, a White Paper on pluralism and patronage in the primary sector will follow.
Reform Agenda
The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism represents one of the major reforms initiated over the last twelve months.
I would like to take a few moments to briefly touch on some of the other reforms which are currently underway across the education sector.
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy
We all know that literacy and numeracy skills are fundamental to a person’s life chances.
Yet information on national assessments, school inspections and international studies has shown that many of our students are not developing these skills to the best of their abilities.
Last July, I published the National Literacy and Numeracy strategy to prioritise literacy and numeracy and to endeavour to improve outcomes at early childhood, primary and post-primary levels.
The strategy sets out a radical programme in areas such as teacher education and CPD, curriculum change, monitoring of student progress and evaluating the work of schools.
It acknowledges the central role of parents and the need to support them as they help their children to learn.
Implementation to date – with your support - has been encouraging.
But this is a long journey which will require a sustained effort over many years and of course in an economic climate which is extremely difficult at present.
Second Level
One of the criticisms of our second level system has been the emphasis on recall and rote learning rather than real understanding and competence.
In November last the NCCA published “Towards a Framework for Junior Cycle” and I have endorsed the thrust of these proposals on the future direction of junior cycle reform.
The proposals are designed to promote active learning, creativity and innovation, and address rote learning and curriculum overload.
Teachers are, I am glad to say, generally enthusiastic about the proposed changes.
This was shown clearly when the NCCA went looking for 40 schools to work on the practicalities of implementing the reforms.
It received three applications for every place in the scheme.
All the applicant schools said they were ready for change.
These are schools which are facing the same challenges of retirements, redeployments and cuts as everybody else and yet their appetite for innovative reform remains steadfast.
The new style Junior Certificate will lead on to changes at the senior cycle where we are also looking at significant reform of the curriculum.
Third Level
Last year, for the first time ever, the NCCA and the Higher Education Authority held a joint conference.
This conference discussed the impact of transition to third level on the operation of the Leaving Certificate.
It also looked at how students learn during the later years of second level education.
Some of the suggestions arising from the conference make sense, such as a requirement on third level colleges to offer more general entry courses, and tackling the problem of ‘points inflation’ required to enter college.
The decision to award bonus points to higher level maths from this year has been generally welcomed.
You may have seen figures recently which showed that already there has been a 20pc increase in the numbers of students applying to take higher level maths in the Leaving Cert exam in June.
A process is also in train to re-configure our third level landscape to build collaborative networks of institutions of sufficient critical mass at regional and at national level.
Reform Summary
These are the headline reforms underway in our education sector. We are also continuing to work on changes in many other areas.
In order to succeed, a culture change must be encouraged to happen in every classroom.
I know there is always a temptation to cling to that which is familiar at times of crisis.
However, we should remember that during the darkest days of World War II in the 1940’s, our neighbours in Great Britain began planning for life after a crisis.
They drew up the Beveridge Plan which contained the blueprint for the National Health Service and the modern welfare state and most important of all, its education system.
We must make the most of this opportunity to build a reformed society and economy our priority.
Unqualified Teachers and Teaching Council
I now want to refer to the issue of unqualified teachers in our schools.
I heard your views loud and clear on this issue at last year’s congress.
I published a circular which obliges schools to give preference to newly qualified teachers ahead of unqualified and retired teachers.
I also reduced the pay for retired teachers, a move which has had a considerable impact.
You may be aware that the numbers of unqualified and retired teachers employed in our primary schools have reduced considerably, but not entirely.
I put it to you that there is need for some of your members who are principals to ensure that the circular giving preference to newly qualified teachers is put into practice at school level.
Before I finish, let me turn directly to yourselves and your profession.
There has been much criticism of the Teaching Council in recent years, but it is a structure that will underpin the professionalism of your profession.
That will regulate teachers in the same way that
doctors, lawyers and other professions are regulated.
I know that many teachers are also concerned at the delay in commencing Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001.
The Education (Amendment) Bill 2012 is currently before the Oireachtas and is due to pass into law before the summer recess.
Once passed, I expect to commence Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act within months.
In response to concerns raised by a number of branches of the INTO, I intend to change a section in the legislation.
This will make it clear that an unregistered person will not be employed "in a teaching position" but rather that his or her employment will be in place of a registered teacher.
I want to thank the INTO for its help in improving the drafting of the Education (Amendment) Bill.
I also now formally indicate my support for a proposal by the outgoing Teaching Council to reduce the annual registration fee to €90 to €65, and I will take the steps necessary to ensure this change is implemented.
I am sure this is will be welcomed by many teachers here today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have an ambitious change agenda underway across all levels of education.
It is essential that this change is delivered if we are to create a future education system that we can be proud of.
I know that teachers will play their part in this process and will continue to make an invaluable contribution to our education system into the future.