Speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin's Education consultation document, 'Educate that you may be free' (See Pages 10&11), Dublin City Councillor and candidate for Dublin Central, Nicky Kehoe, said that tackling educational disadvantage is essential to address social and economic disadvantage in the North Inner City.
"A country's prosperity and the wellbeing of its citizens can be directly linked to the success of its education system," he said. "The so-called Celtic Tiger, which no doubt improved the financial lives of many, can be attributed to the educated workforce that this state is rightly proud of. It is no coincidence either that those who benefited least from the Celtic Tiger are those areas where poverty and disadvantage are rife and where education facilities are minimal.
"Dublin's North-East Inner City has suffered extensively from long-term educational disadvantage. This is evidenced by a number of indicators, including higher than average early school leaving, lower than average participation in third-level education, and poor literacy levels."
Kehoe said that the establishment of the Social Inclusion Unit in the Department of Education and Science was a positive first step and an important recognition of the need to adopt a specific, targeted and integrated approach to respond appropriately to the education needs in disadvantaged areas. He added that the Education Task Force proposed as part of an overall education strategy by the Inner City Organisations Network (ICON) in 1998 should be implemented as a matter of urgency. "An Education Task Force would work from a lifelong learning perspective," he said. "Its structure would reflect the needs of those in pre-school, primary, secondary, adult and community education.
Early school leavers
"The early school leaving age, which is a hallmark of inner city education is a statistic that must be reversed," Kehoe added. "Many young people feel forced to leave school as a result of the poverty that exists in the home and the need to contribute to the household income. Others simply find no reason to remain in the education system, witnessing as they do daily, the never-ending cycle of unemployment and poverty in their communities.
"A fundamental shift in the focus of education is required if this is to be resolved. I believe that students from low-income households who wish to remain at school should receive financial assistance to do so.
"Facilities themselves are seen by many as an indication of government commitment to education in North Inner City areas. School buildings are in a terrible state in most inner-city areas. If the government is to convince young adults in these communities that their education is important; then at the very least they must invest in the infrastructure and facilities.
"So too must class sizes be reduced. Despite repeated assurances, teacher/ student ratios have yet to be reduced to an acceptable level. Again, this is a matter that needs to be resolved immediately.
"Just as with so many other areas, this government's record on education is marked by wasted opportunities. The unprecedented resources available to the government have not been invested in the youth of our country."
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