THE number of children beginning primary school today is down by a massive 11,000 on last year, raising the prospect of major rationalisation of schools before the end of the century.
Within five years, the primary school population is expected to fall by 50,000. The decline in the birth rate is steepest in the western counties.
Second level enrolments peak next year before they start to fall. The decline here has been delayed by the introduction of the six year cycle two years ago.
The Department of Education estimates that about 468,000 children will go to primary school today, compared to 479,000 last year. Some 52,000 are pupils starting school.
At second level, 373,000 students are enrolled, about 3,000 more than last year. The number of third level students is also up by 3,000, to 97,000.
Late last year, the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, established the commission on school accommodation needs to make proposals on rationalising the education system. It is examining ways of reducing the number of VECs, but plans shortly to draw up agreed criteria for rationalising schools.
Eleven new all Irish schools start this year, two of them in the North. They include one Gaelscoil, in Maynooth, Co Kildare, which was refused recognition by the Minister, as well as Gaelscoil Chill Mhantain, which is said to be the State's first interdenominational school.
This year sees an expansion of the vocational streams in the Leaving Certificate. About 175 schools are expected to take the Leaving Cert vocational programme and more than 120 will take the Leaving Cert applied.
The president of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI), Mr John Mulcahy, has called on the Minister to do more to promote the Leaving Cert applied.
