STUDENT SURVEY: A survey of students in Waterford has produced food for thought. Chris Dooley, South East Correspondent, reports

Official reports and statistics may abound on the Irish education system, but who knows what really goes on inside our schools? Only two groups of people actually do, according to a Waterford-based music teacher, Cormac O'Duffy. One group comprises teachers and management, the other students.

Yet when information is compiled and policies decided, students are rarely asked for their opinion on the quality of the service being provided.

Students, O'Duffy points out, are "the consumers of education", and "if we are not listening to their views, we may be missing something important and crucial to their personal growth and to the system which is meant to be meeting their needs".

In the hope of generating a debate about the current system, last December he undertook a survey of 181 students, all in fifth or sixth year, in five schools in the Waterford area.

The results of the "Scoil Report 2001-2002" found that only a fifth of those surveyed declared themselves to be in favour of the points system. There was strong support for continuous assessment and significant demand for new subjects, including computer and world development studies.

Of the three compulsory subjects in the Leaving Cert, only English received a general thumbs up from respondents. Six out of 10 said the level of maths required was "too high", while a similar number supported changes in the way Irish is taught.

Many students argued there should be no compulsory subjects at all. "I am hoping to study music in college, but unless I pass maths I won't get into college and this really upsets me," wrote one.

O'Duffy's questionnaire provided students with a possible alternative to the Leaving Cert, which he called a "higher school certificate", which would be more closely linked to subjects taught in university.

Students, he suggested, would study a total of three or four subjects of their choice at a much deeper level than allowed by the present Leaving Cert, and there would be no compulsory subjects.

Those surveyed liked the idea, with 74.5 per cent registering approval. "I think there is not enough time for all the subjects in a two-year course," wrote one respondent. "There is too much to learn and remember. There is not enough practical work and enjoyment. Continuous assessment is a great idea - it would take away a lot of stress. I would love to do an in-depth study of three subjects."

If the survey demonstrates one thing, it is that students are not short of opinions when someone does bother to ask. Of the 181 surveyed, 131 took up the invitation to make additional comments. "The education system should teach people how to think for themselves," wrote one, demonstrating that he or she, at least, had developed that capacity.

Irish produced some of the most provocative responses. "The language will die out in the next three decades so let's just leave it," was not an untypical sentiment. But others criticised the emphasis on written work in Irish at the expense of "basic skills of communication".

Homework, not surprisingly, did not get universal approval either.

Two-thirds said they got too much to do after school.

O'Duffy has sent the results to the Department of Education and Science and suggests a similar survey should be conducted Statewide. Most students, he says, are unhappy with the education system but feel powerless to do anything about it. That is something he "passionately" believes has to change.