PRESS RELEASE

21/02/2006

Government move to publish WSEs exposes divided Opposition - Kelleher

Cork North-Central Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher has said has said the Government is moving to provide balanced and well-informed information on schools - just as the Opposition remains divided over whether to publish schools’ examination results.

Deputy Kelleher said the Department of Education and Science’s decision today [Tuesday] to publish separate guides to whole-school evaluations (WSEs) in primary and post-primary schools show it is serious about giving parents and students in-depth information about their choice of schools.

‘In both primary and post-primary schools, inspectors meet the board of management, parents’ representatives and the staff of the school before they visit classrooms. Extensive discussions take place between the inspectors and the principal and in-school management team during the evaluations. 

‘Before the WSEs are published on the Department of Education and Science website, the  written report of the evaluation is sent to the principal and chairperson of the board of management which can respond formally within 20 days,’ said Deputy Kelleher.

He said WSEs are balanced and comprehensive - not just focussing on results but instead covering the whole school community and involving all the stakeholders.

‘On the other hand, Fine Gael and Labour are at odds over evaluating schools. It is official Fine Gael policy to publish schools’ exam results. But ‘Labour’s deputy education spokesperson, Senator Joanna Tuffy, has said publishing exam results is “a fundamental issue with us and I can't see us reviewing our position”.’

Fine Gael itself is divided. The party’s Oireachtas members - TD Paul McGrath and Senators Ulick Burke and Jim Higgins - have opposed their own party’s official policy to publish them.

‘Is it any wonder that the two parties cannot agree a common macro-policy platform when they are so divided on publishing schools’ exam results?

‘The Government’s position, meanwhile, is clear: we do not believe in comparing one school with another purely on the basis of exam results because they provide an unbalanced and grossly limited indication of a school’s performance,’ said Deputy Kelleher.

ENDS