The number of third-level places will be increased by 14,000 in the next two years, according to Department of Education sources. The majority of these places will be concentrated in the Institutes of Technology, which account for 43,000 of the current 100,000 third-level students.
The first 7,000 places should come on line next year, with 4,000 of these places in the 13 institutes of technology.
The Minister for Education and Science told the TUI Congress: "We must celebrate and build on diversity of provision and not succumb to the type of snobbery which only serves to undervalue the contribution of sub-degree courses". Mr Martin said the institutes of technology would take a leading role in expanding provision and they would continue to bring to reality the idea of ladders of progression.
"We must value diversity and move away from the type of approach which ignores the role of apprenticeships, certificates and diplomas in providing people with valuable skills which will enable them to find well-paid employment. What is also ignored is that these courses provide an opportunity for people to enter at one level and progress at their own pace."
But simply expanding balanced provision would not be enough to realise the objective of making third level commonplace and inclusive for all groups, he said.
"The representation of less well-off groups in third-level education is unacceptably low . . . One example of how opportunities to participate are limited in this country can be seen by the fact that the level of mature students in our third-level system is less than one-fifth of Britain's 20 per cent."
The Minister said every institution that wanted to play its role in expanding places and opportunities had to adopt a proactive policy of increasing non-standard entries.
On Whole School Evaluation, Mr Martin said the change in title of the proposed new inspection model from Whole School Inspection to Whole School Evaluation (WSE) reflected the revised nature of the project. "It very emphatically rejects crude and simplistic models of school inspection used in other countries and under no circumstances whatsoever can the process lead to league tables.
"WSE is a unique model, tailored to the particular circumstances of Irish schools. It is a collaborative model whose primary purpose is to lead to the affirmation and development of schools."
In an attempt to persuade the TUI to join the ASTI and INTO, which are currently piloting the WSE project, he said, "One of the great possibilities of the evaluation model is its potential to acknowledge the excellent work being carried out in so many schools in all circumstances throughout the country." He also promised to make the supports needed available to schools to help them participate in the process. The TUI position on WSE will be determined today.
The Minister acknowledged teacher concerns about bullying. The right of teachers to work in an environment free from intimidation must always be upheld, he said. The circular being prepared by the Department of Education and Science recognised this as a health and safety issue, he said, and it would be issued without delay, once the consultation exercise was completed.
More than 4,000 teachers would participate in in-service education in the run-up to the introduction of the revised Leaving Certificate English. There would be maximum support and minimum disruption, he said.
Many teachers felt the combined effect of all of the in-service programmes and, as part of dealing with this, he was reactivating the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment's senior cycle committee. It would deal with issues of implementation as well as the normal business of reviewing curriculum change.
An emergency motion on the Education Bill is to come before the congress today. The Minister told delegates the Bill would not change the terms and conditions in the vocational sector.