LABOUR COMMITTED TO RESTORATION OF SCHOOL BOOK GRANT
Issued : Friday 28 August, 2009
Areas : Ballymun , Finglas
Labour Councillor John Lyons has said that Labour is committed, on return to government, to restoring the aid for the school book scheme abolished by the government in the October budget.
“The abolition of the school book scheme (other than in the most disadvantaged areas) was one of the nastiest of a series of education cuts that were made in the budget last October. It is bad enough that education should be targeted but what was particularly appalling was the decision to cut schemes, such as this one, which were designed to help pupils from the poorest of families.
“While the scheme remains in place for designated disadvantaged schools, it has been estimated that up to 50% of the poorest children in the state attend other schools. The future prospects of these children have been seriously undermined by a petty decision that will save the government in the region of €7.5m.
“While children in Northern Ireland receive their school books free, in this state the mounting cost of books is a huge problem for all parents, but particularly for those on low incomes. The submission Labour published in advance of the April budget contained a commitment to restoring the grant scheme on our return to office, but there is also a need to look at other ways to reduce the cost of books.
“There are a number of initiatives that should be taken. In particular the Department of Education and Science should take responsibility for promoting greater awareness of successful Book Rental Schemes among schools where such schemes are not already operational.
“The National Council for Curriculum Assessment should consider the cost of school books when drawing up new, or amending existing curricula. The merging of textbooks into one i.e. the complication of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year history books into one volume (which has already proved successful) should be encouraged to curb year-on-year expense on new text books”.
