An insider's guide to education
• Wanted! A patient and meticulous person prepared to take lots of flak from angry parents/students - and keep smiling through it all. TP sees Minister Woods is to shortly recruit somebody to run the new exams body. This independent body will take over the running of the exams from the Department's mandarins. TP thinks this could be one of the toughest jobs in the public service, up there with ministers for justice or health.
A few exam papers go missing, a few papers are marked incorrectly and Joe Duffy and other talk radio jocks will be emoting over the fiasco. The money for this not so plum post would want to be good.
• TP was interested to see that even teachers are feeling the chill winds of economic recession, particularly TP's good friends in the TUI. The union, noted for its intense dislike of capitalism and its evil servants, is still an eager investor on the international money markets.
However the union's investment fund only managed to turn in a puny 1.4 per cent return last year. This was blamed on "economic slowdown and falling corporate profitability" by the TUI's bean counters. However, probably wisely in view of the problems at AIB and Elan, the TUI money men are planning to move away from Irish shares in future, and invest more of their chips in European companies.
• There were plenty of scaremongers predicting chaos in schools when supervisors went in for their first day of work two weeks ago. But apart from a few isolated incidents - like the throwing of ham sandwiches in Ballyhaunis - most schools have remained incredibly calm and discipline has been maintained.
TP, however, must take off his hat to the supervisors who tackled the knife-wielding intruder in Summerhill College, Sligo, last week. Far from showing their inexperience, the non-teaching supervisors in question showed amazing alertness and bravery. Although, to be fair, the teachers at the school were also on the ball.
• TP grows weary at some of our third-level colleges who insist on not showing the media, students or parents the number of applications they get through the CAO each year. The information invariably leaks out anyway or can be obtained later through the FOI Act, but despite this the colleges insist the information should be kept under lock and key.
The CAO has no power to release it, because it acts on the instructions of the colleges. But surely the people paying for the whole third-level shooting match - the students and parents - have a right to know how many people are applying for what courses?
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