The Government may need to rethink the ban on the publication of school league tables, the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, said yesterday, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
In a surprising move, he said the blanket ban on the publication of the tables which was specifically inserted in the 1998 Education Act may need to be reconsidered.
He said there was a wider question of parents' right to information on what was going on in schools.
Mr Dempsey stressed that he was not in favour of crude league tables based solely on Leaving Cert results. Information on more than exam results should be made available to parents.
The former education minister, Mr Micheál Martin, imposed a blanket ban on the publication of league tables in the 1998 Act.
At a meeting of OECD ministers which considered the issue of school assessment yesterday, Mr Dempsey said the total ban was "probably an extreme position".
The softer line by the Minister is bound to unleash a strong reaction from the teacher unions.
They argue that "raw" league tables - which take no account of the social background of students - are unfair to school communities and that they present a distorted view.
Mr Dempsey stressed he was "still against simplistic tables based on Leaving Cert points or a simple statement of who went to university from which schools . . . and ranking schools as if that was the only criterion".
In recent years The Irish Times has published lists of the main schools providing students to the seven universities. This has been possible under the Freedom of Information Act.
Last month, some university admission officers moved at an informal forum to ban the publication of these "feeder school lists". But no final decision has yet been taken by the Central Applications Office, which compiles the information.
Mr Dempsey is said to favour giving parents information on a range of issues about schools including
Exam results.
Statistics on the number proceeding to employment.
Statististics on the number proceeding to third-level.
Attendance rates at the school.
Enrolment policies.
Assessment of school links with the wider community and business.
A constant theme for Mr Dempsey is the manner in which parents are "excluded" from the education system.
He says public debate on education issues is dominated by what he calls "the usual suspects" in the teaching unions and other lobby groups.
Publication of school league tables is opposed by virtually every senior education figure. However, the former Fine Gael policy director and former education spokesman, Mr Richard Bruton, has been a supporter of full publication.
The two-day OECD meeting in Dublin Castle ranged across several issues including social cohesion and moves to attract and retain teachers. Dr Barry McGaw, its director of education, said there had been a shift in emphasis across the OECD away from resource issues and toward assessment and quality issues in education.
The meeting was the first full-scale ministerial meeting of education ministers to take place away from its Paris base.