Cabinet approves draft legislation on new education boards

THE Government has approved draft legislation to devolve many of the functions of the Department of Education to 10 new education boards. The legislation will also provide for major changes in the management of over 4,000 primary and secondary schools.

The far reaching Education (Education Boards and Boards of Management) Bill 1996 will end the Department of Education's status as the most centralised department of Government.

At present, regional education management in Ireland is the weakest of any in the OECD; only 248 VEC schools are locally managed. However, the Bill will change this by establishing intermediate structures with responsibility for all schools. The VECs will continue to exist, but smaller committees will be rationalised.

The Bill was taken at Cabinet yesterday by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, deputising for the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, who is recovering from an operation. After drafting, the detailed legislation will be published in July.

The multi county boards have been opposed by the VECs and Fianna Fail, which favour a single county model. The Irish Vocational Education Association claims the cost of establishing the boards will be £425 million a year; however, the Minister says the additional costs will be minimised by transferring staff from the Department and the VECs.

The main functions of the boards will be to:

. channel funds to schools in accordance with nationally agreed criteria.

. deliver services such as remedial teaching and psychological services.

. plan the educational provision in each region.

The boards will own all new school buildings which will then be leased to different groups.

Under the Bill, all schools will have to establish a board of management; currently, only about 70 per cent of voluntary secondary schools and 80 per cent of VEC schools have a board. If schools fail to do so, their grants and staffing levels Will be frozen.

Primary school boards will be restructured to end the voting majority currently enjoyed by the religious trustees.

School managers and the Department have yet to agree the exact structure of the board, but the outcome of these talks is expected to be a "core" board of two parents, two teachers, two trustee nominees, which would co opt two further members drawn from the wider community. Boards would also have to be gender balanced.

No specific board structure is outlined for second level, partly because no single model would be adaptable to the wide variety of management structures in Protestant schools. However, talks on reforming second level boards are expected to begin in the summer.

Welcoming the Bill, the National Parents' Council, post primary, called on VECs to ensure that boards were established in all schools in their area immediately.