SEVERAL VOCATIONAL Education Committees (VECs) could be abolished in a major scaling back of the sector, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe signalled yesterday.
The Minister said the separate pay structure and administration for each of the 33 VECs in the State seems “out of step” with the rationalisation now under way across the public sector.
The McCarthy report recommends a reduction in the number of VECs to 22 and it portrays the sector as hugely expensive and overly bureaucratic.
Today, the annual conference of vocational school managers will discuss an emergency motion condemning the report.
The Minister, who will address the conference, said he would not get into numbers in relation to VECs but he told The Irish Times: "I accept there is a need for rationalisation of the VECs as there is across the public service."
Mr O’Keeffe said he is anxious to boost the role of the VECs in the primary sector. Two State-run primary schools are being run on a pilot basis by the City of Dublin VEC. But delegates to the Irish Vocation Education Association (IVEA) conference in Ennis, Co Clare, are likely to express anger about the possible abolition of some county VECs.
Spending in the vocational sector has increased from €731 million in 2005 to €949 million this year. Some 87 per cent of this is teachers’ pay. The 33 VECs are made up of 27 county, five city and one borough – each with their own administrative structure.
In a submission to the McCarthy group, the Department of Finance pointed out how the VECs “vary in size, some with more than 20 schools, while others may only have two or three . . . There is also a wide variation in enrolment in post-Leaving Cert courses and Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) enrolment in each VEC. Some have in excess of 10,000 students while others have fewer than 1,000.”
Yesterday, IVEA general secretary Michael Moriarty called on the education partners – including the Department of Education, parents, management bodies and teachers’ unions – to establish an educational solidarity pact with a commitment to achieving common educational goals, supported by adequate resources.
Mr Moriarty called on the partners to recognise that education is central to economic recovery through the development of a knowledge economy, and “must, as far as possible, be a recession-proof activity”.
“While education is not the only factor stimulating economic growth, it has been and will continue to be the main driving force behind the future prosperity of Ireland,” continued Mr Moriarty. “Investment in education is also about investment in the development of social capital, enhancing personal development and empowerment, and significantly contributing to social cohesion.
“Unless we maintain investment in education and training, we may end up paying far more in the future in terms of the judicial system, social welfare, and health expenditure. Reversing the gains of recent years only hampers the development of Ireland as a vibrant nation with a restored economy.”