A chara, – The Government decision to provide free schoolbooks to all primary (national) school pupils is very welcome and long overdue (“Primary schools to get €96 per child and not to ask for parental contribution”, News, August 11th). It is, however, worth noting that when the national school system was set up in 1831 (almost 200 years ago) every school received a stock of free books. The books were renewed every three years. For a school with an average attendance of 125 pupils, 30 first reading books, 30 second reading books, 15 third reading books, six English grammars and six arithmetic texts were provided. Extra books were available on request. In addition, copybooks, slates, slate pencils, quills and ink were also provided, either free of charge or at a reduced price. – Yours, etc,
ÁINE HYLAND
Emeritus Professor
of Education,
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University College Cork.
Sir, – Let us overlook the adage that people value what they pay for and welcome the free schoolbook scheme for primary school pupils recently announced by the Minister for Education. Children of previous decades may recall the excited return home from school with their new textbooks and the necessity that very evening of covering the books. Some parents preferred the durable wallpaper for this process as books were kept intact and handed down to other family members over the coming years. Other parents used “brown paper” for covering, permitting personalised designs by the owner, like the Guns and Roses image from the 1980s. The long-lasting but more expensive transparent contact paper of later years required critical skills to apply.
The demise in the art of book-covering will be a consequence of the free schoolbook scheme, but a win-win for book publishers. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN McLOUGHLIN,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.