Education Motions
Education
1. This Ard Fheis:
- reaffirms its support for the continued commitment of Sinn Féin Education Ministers in the 6 Counties to ending the cycle of inequality and disadvantage by improving educational attainment across the community.
- recognises the severe budgetary pressures which are facing the Education Department in the six counties and calls on the Executive to provide additional resources.
- reiterates its call for the Catholic Commission for Education to implement its decision to end the practice of academic selection within its schools.
- recognises the huge potential for all-Ireland co-operation which exists within the education sector on the island; welcomes the engagements which have already taken place between both Education Ministers and calls for the maximum level of All-Ireland co-operation to be implemented in the current term of government.
Ard Chomhairle
Passed
2. This Ard Fheis recognises parental concerns regarding the future direction of the post primary transfer process in the 6 counties education system.
We commend the Education Minister's commitment to continuing reform of the education system. We urge him to continue seeking to deliver maximum clarity and certainty regarding future transfer arrangements. We reaffirm our Party's resolve to achieve educational excellence on the basis of equality for all our children.
Kevin Lynch Cumann, Park/Craigbane, Co Derry
Passed
3. This Ard Fheis reaffirms Sinn Féin's support for children who have behavioural and/or special educational needs; recognises the serious difficulties and challenges faced by those families trying to access essential supports as a result of the cuts to Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and commits the organisation to actively supporting the families affected by the loss of these essential services.
This Ard Fheis also calls for the immediate implementation in the 26
counties of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act
(EPSEN) in order to ensure inclusive education practices that are underpinned
by a series of statutory rights so that children with special educational needs
receive an education in an inclusive environment and achieve outcomes in
accordance with their abilities.
Ard Chomhairle
Passed
4. This Ard Fheis condemns the decision by the Minster for Education to cut 227 special needs assistant positions in order to comply with the cap agreed within the EU/IMF bailout deal and recognises these cuts will adversely impact on the education of those pupils suffering from learning disabilities and the entire classroom population where an SNA is removed; states that cuts to SNAs is yet another example of ordinary people suffering from Government cuts to key services in order to bail out bond holders and that the Minister for Education should reverse these cuts and restore the full allocation of SNAs to all schools for the forthcoming academic year.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght.
Passed
5. This Ard Fheis supports the call that the Minister for Education and Skills works with the North’s Education Minister, John O’Dowd, MLA, to build on the work of the North/South Education and Standards Committee and encourages greater co-operation between Special Needs Schools operating in both jurisdictions.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght
Passed
6. This Ard Fheis supports the family support Springboard initiative and the use of nurture rooms in primary schools to help children with behavioural problems and maintains that funding of this initiative will help children integrate into mainstream education
Louth Comhairle Ceantair
Passed
7. This Ard Fheis supports the postponement and review of last year’s budget cuts to traveller education that amounted to a loss of an estimated 800 posts to traveller education at primary and post primary level.
Ard Chomhairle
Passed
8. This Ard Fheis calls upon the Irish Government to resource reading and maths recovery programmes in all schools in order to wipe out illiteracy and numeracy difficulties among school children. We would also call for the roll out of targeted programmes for adults.
Louth Comhairle Ceantair
Passed
9. This Ard Fheis commends and supports the campaign for the restoration of an affordable school bus service to pupils across the 26 counties.
Louth Comhairle Ceantair
Passed
10. This Ard Fheis supports the calls of parents that they should not have to pay for schoolbooks and maintains that school books should be funded through general taxation as in many countries.
Wolfe Tone Cumann, Sallins
Co. Kildare
Passed
11. This Ard Fheis calls on the Irish Government to provide additional
financial support for after schools support programmes in recognition of the
current economic crisis which has a direct relationship between poverty and low
educational achievement.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght.
Passed
12. This Ard Fheis mandates Sinn Féin TDs, Senators and MLAs to provide constructive and responsible opposition and to vigorously oppose any proposals which will result in the cutting of essential frontline education services that are in place to help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable of our young people being taught in mainstream education.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght.
Passed
13. This Ard Fheis supports changes to the current school enrolment policy in the 26 counties that bring to an end the discriminatory practices which have allowed ‘elite’ schools to flout the Equality Legislation by creating barriers that discourage the intake of pupils with behavioural and special educational needs.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght
Passed
14. This Ard Fheis recognises the complexities of rules governing the redeployment of Primary School teachers to Gaelscoileanna and schools in Gaeltacht areas whose standard of Irish may not be adequate to teach in an Irish speaking school and that without proper training and support the Irish Government must refrain from forcing teachers into a situation that is unfair to them personally and to the pupils whom they are ultimately responsible for.
West Galway Comhairle Ceantair
Passed
15. This Ard Fheis calls upon the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn to ensure that the same parity of support and funding is given to Gaelscoileanna as is currently given to Educate-Together schools and other mainstream schools as an absolute minimum. Furthermore, we are absolutely opposed to the marginalisation and negative discrimination against Gaelscoileanna across the 32 Counties of Ireland, in either jurisdiction.
Black/Ryan
Cumann, Lucan
Dublin
Passed
16. This Ard Fheis supports the changes that are forthcoming in the Leaving Certificate Irish exam in 2012.
Due to the proposed 40% of marks to be awarded for spoken Irish, it is an imperative that emphasis is put on spoken Irish in the classroom and the general public.
This Ard Fheis proposes;
- A grant scheme to support students attending the Gaeltacht.
- Modern computer programmes to assist with the learning of Irish.
- Improved teacher ratios to facilitate students studying and learning Irish
- Study materials such as text books, aural discs and software to be made available under the direction of the Department of Education.
Rogers/Martin Cumann, North Louth
Passed
17. This Ard Fheis reaffirms its support for the implementation of joint initiatives by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, (NCCA), and its Northern equivalent, the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, (CCEA), to advance the development of the Irish language sector on an All-Ireland basis.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght
Passed
18. This Ard Fheis supports a comprehensive review of the funding for the private school sector in the 26 counties which currently costs the State €100 million annually and that the Irish Government implement a comprehensive review of the south's school patronage system, the focus of which is the implementation of progressive and meaningful reform.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght
Passed
19. This Ard Fheis directs the incoming Ard Chomhairle to draw up a comprehensive Education Policy that will serve to guide and inspire party activists and people working in the education sector during the difficult times ahead, taking account of the very different education systems in place in our divided island.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght.
Passed
20. This Ard Fheis:
- Reaffirms that education - up to and including third-level education – is a basic right that should be accessible to all and not be restricted on the basis of ability to pay
- Rejects the ‘user-pays’ approach of the British government’s report (the Browne review) into the funding of higher education, which, if implemented in the North, would discriminate against disadvantaged students, burden graduates with huge debts and lead to a two-tier third-level education system and calls on the Minister for Employment and Learning to reject the Browne review proposals and refuse to introduce new fees or charges on students
- notes that prior to the last general election the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn signed a pledge on behalf of the Labour Party, promoted by the Union of Students in Ireland, stating “If elected, I will oppose and campaign against any new form of third level fees including student loans, graduate taxes and any further increase in the student contribution”.
- notes with concern the recent comments made by the Minister refusing to rule out the reintroduction of third level fees and calls on him to honour the pledge he made prior to the election not to do so.
-
Pledges to support the student campaign against any attempt to increase tuition
fees
Twinbrook Cumann
Ógra National Executive
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght
Ógra Cúige ConnachtComhairle Ceantair na nOllscoileanna Uladh
Passed
21. This Ard Fheis demands that the party and the Assembly team oppose any reductions in the EMA grant allowance for students in the 6 counties.
Comhairle Ceantair na nOllscoileanna Uladh
Passed
22. This Ard Fheis calls on the 26 County Minister for Education to keep to clear pre-election promises made by his party and his coalition partners in designating Waterford Institute of Technology as a University of the Southeast; rejects any attempt to relegate the Southeast into the second-tier of University provision and accepts the fact that the Southeast region is at an unfair disadvantage to other regions by not having a University.
Brugha/Lynch Cumann, Waterford City
Keating Sands Cumann, Portlaw/Ballyduff
Passed
23. This Ard Fheis opposes the tough new controls imposed on universities and third-level colleges under the revised Employment Control Framework that applies absolute limits to the numbers and grades of staff in teaching, research, administrative and other posts and recognises: that a centralised bureaucracy is an impediment to developing the search for knowledge in a modern and diverse society; that support for a vigorous, innovative and well-resourced education system is the best guarantee for the future development and success of our economic and social infrastructure and, accordingly, mandates the party to oppose all proposals that, it believes, could permanently damage the fabric of our education systems.
Markievicz, Ryan and O’Farrell Cumann, Tallaght.
Passed