Donegal TD Pearse Doherty has called on the Government to immediately initiate a review of the DEIS Programme, the state’s official plan for tackling educational disadvantage in schools.
Deputy Doherty made the comments following mounting anger within many schools and communities throughout Donegal which continue to be excluded from the programme. This is despite recent statistics that showed the schools were in some of the most disadvantaged areas anywhere in the state.
Deputy Doherty said he is now seeking a meeting with the Minister for Education and is calling for the immediate reappraisal of the programme in order to take account of this latest data.
Deputy Doherty said:“Earlier this year, the Minister launched the 2017 DEIS Plan which set out the Department’s latest programme aimed at tackling educational disadvantage through providing better opportunities for those in communities most at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion.
“The plan is based on the recent Review of the DEIS Programme which included a new identification process for the purpose of selecting schools for inclusion, including data collected from both the Primary and Post-Primary Databases, the Central Statistics Office as well as the Pobal HP Index on Deprivation.
“A number of additional schools were included to the new programme last September however, while this is to be welcomed, there is considerable anger at the fact that many schools have been excluded, despite the fact that the areas in which they are located have been identified as some of the most disadvantaged in the state according to the most recent Deprivation statistics which was only published in September.
“This means that schools in some of the most deprived areas of Donegal have not been included as part of the latest DEIS Plan, even though they meet the plan’s criteria and qualify for the scheme.
“As a result, primary schools such as in Gort a’ Choirce, Rann na Feirste and Mhín Tine Dé, as well as secondary schools such as Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair are not being provided with the additional supports needed to best cater to the educational needs of its pupils.
“This is completely unacceptable and parents and school staff are rightly extremely angry and concerned at the fact that, despite the best efforts of teachers and principals, these pupils continue to be at risk of educational disadvantage.
“The Minister is on the Dáil record as stating that, should updated information become available which later shows that a school currently precluded from the scheme now meets the criteria, then it will be included to the DEIS programme.
“Clearly, the publication of this latest deprivation data warrants DEIS status to be extended to include a number of schools throughout Donegal and I intend to raise this with the Minister in the Dáil at the next available opportunity.
“I’ve also now sought a meeting with the Minister with the view to discuss these issues and to examine the need to have schools currently excluded from the programme awarded DEIS Status where schools meet the criteria for additional supports.”
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