It is no longer valid to compartmentalise education into separate sectors such as school, higher education, adult education, non-formal education etc. Rather a true lifelong learning approach is the only way forward if Ireland is to avoid the waste of human potential resulting from failures within the system.

A New Vision for Irish Education

The recent travails of Ireland as it attempts to deal with the fall out from the banking crisis and the collapse of the economy have been well documented across the world media. The swingeing cuts made in the 7^th December budget taking more than €6billion out of the economy will be felt in the coming year and will no doubt take its toll on adult and community education . To add to Ireland’s current woes the OECD/ PISA study published at the beginning of December revealed a dramatic decline in our maths and literacy rankings at second level slipping from 5^th place in 2000 to 17^th place in 2010, the sharpest decline among the 39 countries surveyed. What could possibly have happened to Ireland’s reputation for having a ‘world class’ education system with the best educated workforce across Europe? The literacy survey results raise serious questions about the quality of Irish education particularly at second level and has wide implications for adult and community education which will inevitably be expected to compensate for the failures of the formal system, while remaining the least well funded sector of the education system.

Budget 2011

Currently the adult education sector commands approximately 4% of the overall education budget which was reduced by 2% bringing the allocation down to €8.855 billion in 2011 compared to €9.002 billion in 2010. Since the downturn adult and community education providers have reported an unprecedented demand for their adult education programmes – in some cases as high as three applicants for every place. Throughout 2010, in its efforts to respond to rising unemployment in Ireland, the government introduced the Labour Market Activation Measures. Last year these programmes provided 12,000 training places for priority groups amongst the unemployed, including the low skilled and those formerly employed in declining sectors such as retail and construction. Particular emphasis was placed on those at risk of long term unemployment and those under 35. A Work Placement Programme targeting people who were unemployed was also introduced. Budget 2011 introduces a new €20 million Higher Education Labour Market Fund and expands the Work Placement Programme. Other elements include a new Skills Development and Internship Programme. However with unemployment figures reaching 438,000 in November 2010, or approximately 13% of the labour force, this provision is a ‘drop in the ocean’.  

Challenges for adult education

While the adult education sector has largely escaped the severity of direct education cutbacks, nonetheless the curtailment of supports for adult learners and the increases or introduction of new fees such as a €200 fee for further education courses and the increase in the registration fee for students in higher education are going to directly affect the capacity of individuals to fund their learning. Reductions of 5% in funding grants to schools and Vocational Educational Committees responsible for the delivery of a range of adult education programmes, including grants for Adult Literacy, Community Education, and Youthreach programmes will almost certainly have a knock on effect for those wishing to pursue these programmes. Perhaps the biggest unknown is the effect of a public service recruitment embargo brought in the 2009 budget preventing the replacement of non-front line staff who retire or take sick or maternity leave. The Department of Education and Skills’s definition of front line staff only applies to teachers, ignoring the fact that front line adult education staff includes programme managers/coordinators, adult literacy, guidance and information personnel. Departure of such staff is putting extreme pressure on the capacity of adult and community education providers to develop and maintain a quality service at a time when demand for adult education and training is at an unprecedented peak.

A new vision

The overall picture could be viewed negatively generating blame and complaint or it could be taken as a clear sign that some radical rethinking must be done in relation to overall policy and decision making for Irish education. It is no longer valid to compartmentalise education into separate sectors such as school, higher education, adult education , non-formal education etc. Rather a true lifelong learning approach is the only way forward if Ireland is to avoid the waste of human potential resulting from failures within the system. In its 2005 report, ‘Moving beyond Educational Disadvantage’ the Educational Disadvantage Committee(abolished in the budget of 2009 by the Irish Government), recognising the complex and multi-faceted nature of educational disadvantage put forward a strategy for addressing educational equality. The proposed strategy was based on the Committee’s research and analysis of many aspects of educational disadvantage and the broader social context. The vision of the Committee was of an inclusive lifelong learning society in which everyone can achieve their full potential and aspirations without barriers. A new government will be elected in the spring of 2011. Its members would do well to revisit this vision and thus make a quality education system in Ireland a reality.