Sir, – The "educational caste system" envisioned by Jacky Jones is real, but the view of it being dominated by enrolment at particular schools is incorrect ("Educational caste system affects all aspects of life", Second Opinion, Health + Family, September 2nd). Many studies have shown that the quality of teaching and resources provided to students in schools is highly consistent, regardless of locality or whether the school is free or fee-paying.
The elephant in the room is the very high level of private tutoring and “grinds” classes received by students from well-off families. This factor is largely omitted from official statistics, but is a major factor in improved exam results and third-level entry in particular areas.
Principals of high-performing schools like to pretend that grinds do not exist, and that good results are entirely their doing. Parents don’t like to talk about grinds because that would be akin to admitting their little darlings are not quite as bright as everyone may think. Teaching unions also avoid discussion of grinds – partly because extra teaching outside of normal school hours provides a largely unreported income boost, but also because the high demand for grinds reflects poorly on conventional teaching within schools.
Grinds are expensive, and so are less utilised where money is tight. If we want more equality, a voucher system for disadvantaged families to avail of the same grinds as their better-heeled counterparts would be a big step. – Yours, etc,
JOHN THOMPSON,
Shamrock Street,
Phibsboro, Dublin 7.