Sir, – The topic of private schools remains a highly emotive one in Irish discourse and Tom Cooper (Letters, December 31st) expresses a widely held grudge against the sector. His main gripe appears to be that such schools are not open to all, having "restrictive" admission policies, even though they receive tax funding at similar levels to State schools.
His suggestion that such schools “must resource themselves” would presumably mean they would rely entirely on fees. This would raise such payments to levels akin to the UK, where private schools often charge six times as much as here. However, he is also worried about “the poor and marginalised” and “taxpayers, the vast majority of whom could never aspire to such a privileged education”. The latter situation is one he would seemingly hope to rectify.
Most obviously a six-fold increase in fees would render such schools truly inaccessible to almost all of Irish society. Conversely, quite arguably at current levels, private school fees in Ireland are actually within the reach of many, if not all, ordinary taxpayers. As reported in The Irish Times on December 28th, many of our private schools charge fees of €4,000 to €6,000, with a few below this range. This is about a month's wages for many nurses and gardaí, according to various reports, with those professions often being taken as typical workers in budgetary analysis. Most private schools charge less than the cost of a pack of cigarettes per day, for instance, something many ordinary people seem able to afford.
Abolishing State support as suggested would make such institutions truly elite, however. Private schools in the UK charge over £17,000 on average, with some fees more than double that. This is the bulk of a year’s wages for our rank-and-file workers, and it quite evidently confers a “privileged” status on pupils.
The fact that many write in support of Mr Cooper is therefore striking (Letters, January 2nd). Some of the views expressed amount to expressions of unhappiness at a perceived advantage enjoyed by those privately educated. It is true that the top performing schools in Ireland are usually either private or Irish-speaking ones. However, the counter-productive logic of, having identified these outstanding institutions, trying to find ways to drag them down toward average levels is extraordinary. One would think it obvious that the goal ought to be to raise the underperforming schools to higher standards rather than the opposite. Our overall strategy has to involve scrutiny of the worst performing schools to see how they may emulate the best, surely. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.