Madam, - The sight of children holding silent instruments outside the Dublin Institute of Technology (The Irish Times, March 3rd) is both sad and anomalous.
Sad, because at this formative stage of their educational development, children should have access to a good quality instrumental education. Anomalous, because one does not associate this age-group with institutes of technology.
Ms Caroline Elbay of the Parents for Music Group refers to children travelling from Dundalk and other counties to the Dublin Institute of Technology to receive an instrumental education. But surely this raises some pertinent questions - which I preface by unreservedly complimenting the staff of the Dublin Institute on the consistently excellent standard of instrumental education.
In the wider context of music education and its future, why do children from Dundalk, which has its own institute of technology, have to travel to a Dublin Institute of Technology for instrumental education and why does one institute of technology offer instrumental education to first and second level students and the other not?
A parallel situation exists in the West. First and second-level students enjoy a high quality music education in a partnership between Sligo Institute of Technology set up recently by Music Network and the local authorities, while neighbouring institutes of technology in Donegal and Castlebar, etc. remain musically silent.
In the interest of equality of access to an instrumental education for all our children, I heartily endorse the call of Mr Brendan Goldsmith, president of Dublin Institute of Technology, for "a comprehensive policy in relation to education for the performing arts." Formative instrumental education has been sidelined by successive Governments and, in my opinion, is a lacuna, not be proud of, in an otherwise admirable education system. - Yours, etc.,
Sister CONCEPTA MURPHY, (Music Teacher), Convent of Mercy,
Ballyshannon, Co Donegal.