Your education questions answered by Brian Mooney

Now that we are well into the Christmas season and the spending boom is reaching its peak, as a secondary teacher working in a disadvantaged school, I find it very difficult to justify the enormous differences in the lives of children living within three miles of each other but worlds apart. The prospects for my students aspiring to education after school is remote, even though we run an after-school homework club for fifth- and sixth-year students, with funds raised by various school events. I would love to expand this service to our junior cycle students, many of whom drop out of school long before the minimum school leaving age. Do you know of any sources of funding at a national level that we might tap into to support these students?

I understand your concern at the plight of the students in your care. It must be very frustrating to watch the bright-eyed excitement of the packed first-year classes slowly lose its lustre as the lack of study facilities, supportive communities and suitable role models in the adult community gradually erode this initial enthusiasm. Having visited such schools I am sometimes surprised we do not have more social unrest as a consequence of ongoing deprivation. There are no simple solutions.

I have recently become aware of one programme that is specifically targeted at situations such as yours. AIB Bank, through consultation with its staff, decided to focus its corporate giving activity into a scheme entitled "Better Ireland Programme". In my role as president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, I became aware of the fund earlier this year, when I was in discussions with the bank about possible financial support for schools, struggling to retain disadvantaged students in school. All AIB's corporate giving activity is now channelled through this programme, which aims to prevent "social exclusion in the community" by focusing its efforts on three issues related to children: homelessness, drug/alcohol abuse and access to education. In relation to the latter cause, which is tackling "lack of children's education through poverty", the Better Ireland Programme will consider services that help address the issue of children's education, their basic needs and promotion of educational opportunities to those who are otherwise denied. The facilities provided in your school, for your fifth and sixth year students, are among those supported by this programme, for example after-school facilities, breakfast clubs and homework clubs. These are some of the services that can help keep children in the educational system, and every year they stay strengthens the chance they will eventually secure a qualification that will lead to sustainable long-term employment. This will have a knock-on effect in communities affected by long-term unemployment and social disadvantage - benefiting individuals, their families and, ultimately, the very financial institutions that provide the support in the first place.

AIB does not want to end up taking on a role that is rightly that of central and local government. The programme will not fund construction or overhead costs, or any of the school expenditure that should be borne by the State. The bank is committed to funding projects that have a direct and tangible benefit to the children involved, so educational equipment such as desks and chairs would qualify. I suggest you put together a proposal on the supports you would like to provide for your junior cycle students and submit it to a local branch of AIB. For more information, get a brochure in any branch of AIB or see www.aib.ie/betterireland.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. E-mail questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie