A report prepared for the Department of Education on literacy standards in disadvantaged primary schools presents a deeply disturbing picture.
More than 30 per cent of children suffer from severe literacy problems. Teachers in sixth class express concern that over one-quarter may not be able to cope at second-level. Only a small minority of 12 year-olds from these areas take a positive view of their own reading achievement.
The report - by the Education Research Centre at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra - underlines the two-tier nature of our education system. For the so-called "advantaged", the Republic has an education system which compares favourably with any in the developed world, a fact underpinned by the OECD in a series of reports. But it is also clear that a great number of our people have been left behind. Teachers in disadvantaged areas report a different Ireland where young children can communicate but not articulate; where huge numbers of children are struggling at the lowest literacy level. The report underlines the dedicated, often unheralded, work of primary teachers in these areas. But it stops short of exposing the extent to which they feel isolated and exasperated by the lack of official support.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has a decent record in relation to disadvantage. He has raised awkward questions about the inequality at the heart of the education system and has pushed the issue of educational disadvantage to the top of his agenda. He is hoping that a forthcoming review of the various programmes targeting educational disadvantage will provide the framework for policies which will make a real difference.
There is much to be done. The number of learning support teachers has increased only marginally from 1,300 six years ago to 1,500 today. One learning support teacher is provided on the basis of every 80 pupils in disadvantaged schools. There is still no formal framework for early childhood education of the kind favoured by the INTO. With up to 27 pupils, class sizes in disadvantaged areas remain much too high. Many schools in poorer areas find it difficult to recruit and retain the best young teachers. There has been talk of a special incentive package to help attract the best young graduates but action is still awaited.
Resources alone will not resolve the problem. But they can, at the very least, help to improve the situation. Mr Dempsey has done well to secure an unprecedented level of public funding for decaying primary school buildings. He now needs to tell his Cabinet colleagues that the literacy crisis needs the same concerted attention.