Education in Ireland

JUST like in any country all over the world, there is primary, secondary and tertiary education in Ireland. The responsibility of education in the country falls heavily under the Department of Education and Science, National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, Higher Education Authority and several vocational educational committees in the local governments in Ireland. There is one vocational educational committee in each of the five counties in Ireland – Dublin, Connacht, Munster, Leinster and Ulster.

An Irish student who goes to a vocational college takes the program seriously because the two-academic year course leads the student to an associate degree. Once the student has that degree, he or she is automatically accepted into college without the hassle of confronting college admissions staff. Typical vocational colleges in Ireland works just like a community college in the United States. Programs offered there reflect the industry of a particular community.

For example, if a particular county has an immense mining industry, then the vocational college existing there must offer mining education programs. Because vocational colleges in Ireland are community-based, they usually conduct school fairs throughout the school year aimed at senior and junior high school students. In these school fairs, vocational college admissions staffs who are mostly psychology graduates in the field of student guidance counseling scout for prospective enrollees for the subsequent academic year.

Aside from the school fairs, vocational colleges in the country in coordination with the respective county governments also open so called Youthreach centers to provide conduits between prospective employers and vocational graduates. In these Youthreach centers, companies in a certain locality will conduct interviews to graduates of vocational colleges who are applying for technical jobs. There are 90 Youthreach centers all over the country. In a related development, the Department of Education and Science has even released 2 million euros to accommodate hundreds, possibly thousands, of special youth as job applicants to be entertained in these Youth centers.

And with the growing trend of medical programs elsewhere in the world, the Irish Vocational Educational Association has proposed to include numerous short courses in medical-related fields to be offered in vocational colleges across the country. Some of these courses are in the fields of reflexology, caregiving, midwifery and medical transcription.

Because Ireland is a member of the European Union, all high school students must learn a second language. That stems from a European Union directive. That means Irish students can already know how to use a total of three languages. (They have two native tongues already – English and Irish). There are three types of high schools in Ireland – public schools, private schools and gaelscoileanna or a purely Irish-speaking school. Because of the growing demand for English, some subjects in a gaelscoil are now taught in English. There are 31,000 gaelscoileanna students in Ireland in 158 elementary schools and 36 high schools. They are found not just in Ireland but in nearby Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, a school that is offering two media of instruction – English and Irish – at the same time is called a bunscoil for the elementary level and meanscoil for the high school level.