As press briefings go, yesterday's event at the Department of Education and Science was a subdued affair. There was nothing lacklustre about the announcements, however. Minister Micheal Martin promised that megabucks will be invested in the sector. Under the terms of the National Development Plan (2000 to 2006), a staggering £5.35 billion is to be spent on education. The Minister was keen to stress, however, that much of the spending will be targeted.
A major aim of the plan is to promote social inclusion by tackling educational disadvantage in our schools and by giving educational opportunities to early school-leaving adults. By the end of the year 2006, the Minister said, the profile of the participants in education will be radically different. "More and more people of different ages and backgrounds will be in our schools and colleges," he predicted. Unsurprisingly, the adult education sector is a major beneficiary of the plan. Some £73.8 million is to be allocated to adult literacy. Up to 110,000 adults will participate in literacy programmes during the lifetime of the plan, (compared with present participation rates of just 10,000 per annum).
Back to Education initiatives including VTOS and Youthreach are set to be expanded (including the part-time provisions) to the tune of more than £1 billion. "It's not realistic to expect people who have left school early to go back to full-time courses," the Minister commented. Further education supports, including a guidance and counselling services for further education participants, are set to receive £35 million.
At schools' level, the Early Start initiative will be replaced by an early childhood education programme costing £10.6 million per annum. (That's £74 million over the lifetime of the plan.) Details of the scheme are to be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on Early Childhood Development. A targeted early literacy programme will cost £11.75 million. Second-level interventions to encourage students to complete senior cycle will cost £75.5 million. Meanwhile, some £95 million has been set aside to increase third-level access among disadvantaged groups. Part of this money will be used to support students from low-income families during their college years. According to the Minister, there are up to 10,000 young people currently attending college whose families are dependent on social welfare.
"These are the most vulnerable people in college," the Minister said. "More resources should be targeted at these people." At third-level, research and development is set to benefit by £550 million, while £1.6 billion will be spent on the educational infrastructure at all levels.
