Election 2024 - Education

This edition of our Election 2024 Spotlight series examines things a new Government can do to address educational disadvantage.

Education

The present situation - a snapshot of some key issues

On Educational Disadvantage

• The trend of poorer outcomes for disadvantaged students at primary and second level continues.  Despite substantial improvements between 2009 and 2012, progress has stalled.   
• Income inequality and family poverty remains one of the largest determinants of educational outcomes. 
• The children of parents with low levels of education have significantly lower proficiency than those whose parents have higher levels of education.

On Early Childhood Education

• Early childhood education and care has a profound and long-lasting impact on individual lives and on societies.
• Despite a considerable increase in investment, Ireland still has one of the lowest levels of public investment in early childhood education and care in the OECD.
• Ireland has the highest level of private provision of Early Childhood Care and Education in the OECD, funded primarily through public sources.

On Higher Education

• Full-time enrolment in higher education has increased by almost 33 per cent in the last decade and is projected to continue to grow to 2030.
• The employment rate is 16 percentage points higher for degree holders than for those with an upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education .
• The benefits of investing in education, to the individual, to the economy and to society, far outweigh any initial outlay of resources. 
• An immediate core funding gap of €307m has been identified in the higher education sector, funding required to deliver enhanced performance, strategic reforms and improved quality of outcomes. This does not address costs of future demographic increases, pensions or other measures. 

On Adult Literacy 

• 18 per cent of Irish adults have a literacy level at or below Level 1.
• 26 per cent of Irish adults have a numeracy level at or below Level 1.
• 42 per cent of Irish adults scored at or below Level 1 for problem solving in technology-rich environments.
• There is a rapid social and economic return on investment in adult literacy and numeracy for both the individual and the State through annual income gains, reduced social welfare transfers and increased tax revenue.

On Lifelong Learning and Digital Skills

• Lifelong learning is essential to ensure Ireland can meet the challenges that automation and adaptation pose to the future of work.
• Ireland’s lifelong learning participation rate is slowly improving – 13 per cent in 2022.
• Those engaged in lifelong learning are more likely to be professionals rather than those with lower skills.
• More than one third of the adult population has low digital skills, and only one fifth cent has digital skills at a basic level.

What type of education system does Ireland need?

• An education system that provides relevant education for all people throughout their lives, so that they can participate fully and meaningfully in developing themselves, their community and the wider society

Things a new Government can do to address educational disadvantage

• Deliver a long-term sustainable, appropriately funded, education strategy that takes a whole-person, life-cycle approach to learning, with the common good at the centre of this strategy.
• Commit to increasing investment in Early Childhood Care and Education by 0.1 per cent of GNI* annually to 2030.
• Make the improvement of educational outcomes for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and disadvantaged communities a policy priority.
• Commit to reducing class sizes and pupil teacher ratios at primary and post primary level by 1 point per annum to 2030.
• Make better access to higher education for students from areas of socio-economic disadvantage, more diverse access routes for underrepresented groups and improving lifelong and flexible learning policy priority.
• Publish a funding roadmap for the higher education sector to 2030.
• Update our lifelong learning target to reach 20 per cent by 2030, ensuring sufficient resources are made available to achieve this goal.
• Develop an integrated, multi-generational skills development strategy to meet digital and green transition challenges.
• Continue to develop an integrated skills development, vocational training, and apprenticeship programmes aligned with regional green and digital opportunities.
• Set ambitious targets for levels of literacy, numeracy and digital skills among adults and fully resource ‘Adult Literacy for Life’.