Teacher's PET

Last week's OECD results were great news for both Ireland and Britain, who came near the top of the international league in literacy, maths and science. But whereas the British education minister, Estelle Morris, spread the good news at a press conference in London, Michael Woods was more, ah, low-key. Woods spent the day at Dundalk IT and got around to issuing a press release late in the day - too late for the morning newspapers. The OECD figures represented the best possible news for the Government. With the economic downturn and an election looming, Bertie's crew needs all the help it can get. So why did the Minister not shout it from the rooftops?

TP's hero of the week is TUI president John MacGabhainn - by some distance the most impressive newcomer to the education scene. All credit to the TUI, who allow their president to say interesting, stimulating and provocative things.

Relations between the teaching unions and the Department were unsettled by the benchmarking hearing on pay last week. In the run-up to the meeting, the TUI and the INTO were told there would be no surprises. Thank goodness for this fine newspaper, which alerted the unions to the fact that the Department had a lengthy shopping list, including a longer school year for teachers and parent/teacher meetings at night. Buoyed up by its defeat of the feeble ASTI, the Department is now ready to raise its game - and demand the kind of sensible changes it should have secured years ago.

The belt of the crozier is not what it used to be, it seems. The Joint Management Board, which runs religious schools, is currently looking for the same level of funding as State-run schools. Earlier this year, the big guns of the Catholic Church - including Archbishop Sean Brady - had a meeting with Bertie on the issue. However, it has all come to nowt. The Budget failed to deliver the goods.

Red faces all round at NUI Galway after the revelation that its president, Dr Iognaid O'Muircheartaigh, feels undervalued, complaining that his £100,000 salary pales when compared to the fat cats at UCD and Trinity. Even more annoyed were those in UL and DCU, who are apparently in the second division, as far as NUIG is concerned.

In London for the OECD meeting, the British hacks expressed astonishment to TP about the good performance by the Oirish in the league tables. Makes a change from the British tabloid headline of some years ago, which screamed: "We're even thicker than the Paddies!"

You can e-mail TP in confidence at teacherspet@irish-times.ie