November 2001 - Inadequacies in Educational Provision in East Antrim

Mr Beggs: I welcome today's democratic debate, and I hope that our Ministers will continue to listen to constructive criticism from Members.

Section 4.7, sub-priority 5, of the draft Programme for Government recognises that there are financial, cultural and geographical barriers that discourage many people from taking up education and training opportunities. Those are fine words, but my constituents and I will judge them on outcomes. Once again, I remind Members that my constituency has no further education campus.

The technical college in Larne was closed and demolished, and the sale of the excess land has not been completed. The people of Larne do not have a permanent focus for further education. If educational opportunities are to be improved, that difficulty must be overcome. Consultants for the CORE group of district councils have highlighted the unacceptably high proportion of the population in Larne and Carrickfergus who have NVQ level 4 qualifications or lower. I have no doubt that that is a result of the lack of further education opportunities in my constituency. There has been little expenditure by the Educational Guidance Service for Adults in East Antrim, despite the absence of a further education college.

If we are to improve education and training opportunities, the Programme for Government must provide practical outcomes. The Programme for Government acknowledges that 24% of adults fail to reach the basic international standards for numeracy and literacy. That happens in East Antrim, as it does in other constituencies. At present, the system fails to provide educational opportunities in my constituency. I would like to see clear action to follow the fine words and improvements in opportunities for basic and intermediate level education in East Antrim. Such action would target social need and would be an important factor in improving the economic competitiveness of Northern Ireland plc. Many people included in the 24% figure may be in work, and others may be seeking employment in a diminishing pool. I hope that the number of people with poor numeracy and literacy levels will decrease. We must improve the quality of our workforce to remain competitive internationally.

I welcome the Programme for Government's commitment to revising the school support programme, improving performance in low-achieving schools and revising the literacy and numeracy strategies and the Northern Ireland curriculum. Parts of the educational system that fail our children must be addressed. Education must motivate children; it must be appropriate. Children must be switched on to it. Many children pass through our schools and do not get as much as they should from the system.
Section 4.3, sub-priority 1, outlines the commitment to provide, by March 2003, one year of pre-school education for every child whose parents wish it. Again, I am pleased with the commitment to increase provision from 85%, but that must not be simply a grand statement from Government; it must be realised practically. I have highlighted the difficulties that small pre-school playgroups face because of the Department of Education's current policy. If a plan such as that highlighted in the Programme for Government is to work, creating opportunities for everyone in Northern Ireland, the current criteria must be reassessed. Geographical distances must be practical for the childminders, grannies and granddads who look after children, but who may not have a car.

It is inappropriate to require that there must be eight children in the immediate pre-school year for playgroups to qualify for funding, irrespective of the recent report by the Education and Training Inspectorate and irrespective of the long-term sustainability of a particular group. I know of playgroups with high quality assessments and numbers that are sustainable in the long-term that were about to be dropped because they did not have eight children. Fortunately, because of the closure of another group, the playgroup that I was involved with was able to continue. However, the questions about the process affect the rural community in particular. Why should the criteria cut people in such areas off from that opportunity? It is not always possible for children to travel from outlying villages into towns to get to pre-school playgroups. If we are to offer the service to everyone, we must follow the Scottish example - that system offers flexibility in areas where parents have little choice.

Those are the challenges that face Ministers, Committees, and Members. I assure the House that I will continue to harass and embarrass when necessary to get value for money. In my work with the Committee for Employment and Learning and the Public Accounts Committee, I will do my bit to improve the quality of life for all our citizens, and I hope that we will be successful.