Labour would make literacy a national cause to ensure no child left school unable to read and write, party education spokesman Ruairí Quinn said today.
"We will develop a national literacy strategy with school-level targets and require every single school in the country to have a literacy action plan,'' he added.
Mr Quinn told a Dublin press conference that his party would spend €88 million annually on strategic educational policies.
"This includes €14 million to support Labour's literacy strategy, and €3 million to reverse the cut in the national educational psychological service imposed by Fianna Fáil in the budget,'' he added.
Mr Quinn said his party would also reverse the €500 increase in the student services charge and the €200 charge for post-Leaving Certificate courses recently introduced.
The €500 increase, he added, was a step too far for students and their families at a time when people should be encouraged into education.
During the launch of the Fianna Fáil policy document on education this morning, Minister for Education Mary Coughlan said teachers entering the classroom do not have the "requisite skills" to boost literacy and numeracy standards. She said she backed a radical overhaul of teacher training.
