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AONTAS Update...
11th May 2010 Issue Number 33 Welcome Welcome to the AONTAS Update! The AONTAS Update is a weekly resource designed to keep members informed about current lifelong learning issues as well as what’s happening in AONTAS! Please let us know what you think of the bulletin by taking a short survey here.
Weekly Survey Do you agree with the action the Government have taken to take away the availability of a Maintenance Grant for . students on the BTEA who are Don’t forget to register for the AONTAS Annual General Meeting which entering full time, third level takes place on Wednesday, 19th May 2010 in the Clarion Hotel, IFSC. The courses. Let us know by AGM will kick off the consultation for the AONTAS Strategic Plan 2011 – clicking here. 2013. A copy of the consultation document along with a booking form and Thank you for all your agenda were posted to members. Please complete the booking form responses on this issue so far included in the pack and return before tomorrow (Wednesday), 14th May – we are keeping the survey 2010 to Dympna Larkin, Membership Liaison Officer, 2nd Floor, 83-87 Main open this week to hear more of your opinions! St, Ranelagh, D6. The Update will be e-mailed to members every Tuesday afternoon. If you have difficulty viewing the Update in your e-mail window, download as a PDF by clicking here. Members are very welcome to contribute and if you have anything for inclusion, please e-mail it to Eleonora Peruffo (eperuffo@aontas.com) by 5pm on Monday afternoon.
POLICY Adult Education News Politics
PROMOTION Events
Each week, we will include a short poll / survey in the AONTAS Update. This is just one opportunity for members to let us know your opinions on the current issues!
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
AONTAS News AONTAS Membership
Information Referral Service
POLICY ADULT EDUCATION NEWS Coughlan refuses to rule out any increase in student registration fees During a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, Minister for Education, Mary Coughlan has not ruled out an increase in the €1,500 student registration charge from 2011. She stated that there were no plans for any increase this year but she could not “rule out or rule in” an increase after that. The Hunt report (due in July) is expected to tackle the issue of which form of student contribution or a graduate contribution is needed. (Irish Times, 6th May 2010) Changes may be considered to Irish curriculum Education Minister, Mary Coughlan has implied that changes to the Irish Leaving Cert curriculum may be forthcoming which focus more on the spoken language. The oral tests are currently worth 25% of total marks at Leaving Certificate level and 20% for Junior Certificate students but previous education Minister Mary Hanafin wanted to increase it to 40% of the overall score. Those changes have been strongly opposed by those in the Gaeltacht who fear it will not be fair to native speakers and would prefer an option of a different curriculum that would allow daily users of the language to show their skills. (Irish Examiner, 5th May 2010) End compulsory Irish, says FG, as 14,000 drop subject New figures show 15.8% of the 55,000 students who sat the Leaving Cert last year chose not to do the Irish exam. The numbers opting out of the exam are increasing by 600 a year. This has led to a call by Fine Gael to end Irish as a compulsory subject for the Leaving Cert. They claim that students would be better off studying for subjects they are interested. (Irish Examiner, 4th May 2010) Getting to grips with what graduates do next This article deals with the facts and figures from two Higher Education Authority publications – 08/09 Higher Education Key Facts and Figures and What Do Graduates Do? – The Class of 2008 which offer insights into differences between the university and the institute of technology sectors, student gender balance at third level, and starting salaries for graduates in first jobs in various disciplines. (Irish Times, 6th May 2010) Talkback An opinion piece by Ruairi Quinn, Labour Party spokesperson on Education and Science, who states that the building blocks to education are the key to a knowledge economy.
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POLITICS Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social & Family Affairs – 12th May 2010
11.00 a.m.The Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs will meet in Committee Room 2, Leinster House 2000 o
Proposals to encourage people to access second and third level education with specific reference to the Back to Education Allowance Scheme Officials from: Department of Education and Skills Department of Social Protection
You can view the Committee Meeting online at www.oireachtas.ie
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The Joint Committee on Education and Science met in Committee Room 3, Leinster House 2000 on Wednesday, 5th May 2010 to discuss: Proposals to reform funding of third level education Concerns regarding how the student registration fee/student support services charge is disbursed in third level institutions o Mary Coughlan, T.D., Minister for Education and Science Click here to read the full transcript from the committee meeting or see extracts from the meeting below. For your information, AONTAS made a submission to the National Strategy on Higher Education recommending the following: 1. The need for more flexible learning opportunities for adult learners taking into account their work and caring responsibilities. 2. The need for a change in the culture and attitude of higher education institutions to ensure the distinct needs of adult learners are met 3. The need for better financial supports for adult learners in higher education including revising the eligibility for maintenance grants for part time mature students. ****** February 2010 - Adult Education: A Current Diagnosis & Measures for Recovery As part of the Adult Learners' Festival 2010, Lobby for Learning Day AONTAS
invited education spokespeople together with the Minister for Lifelong Learning Sean Haughey to hear firsthand about a service that is overstretched and struggling to cope with the current demand from adults for education and training. At "The Adult Education Clinic" Minister for Lifelong Learning, Sean Haughey, along with Green Party TD Paul Gogarty, Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes, and Cllr Aodhan O Riordain from the Labour Party re-created the format of a constituency clinic in order to hear from providers on the ground, as well as adult learners accessing the services. Adult Education: A Current Diagnosis & Measures for Recovery, a short paper illustrating the current demand for adult education and three measures for recovery, was launched at the event.
****** For AONTAS policy updates, please visit www.aontas.com/policy
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PROMOTION Events DIT open evening- Mature students access course Tuesday May 18th at 17:30 in room 218 at DIT Bolton street. Thinking about going to college for the first time as an adult can be exciting and a little nerve racking. Loads of questions go through your mind, Is this the right choice for me? Does it matter if I didn’t do my Leaving certificate? Am I too old? Can I afford to go to College? What happens if I am not from Ireland? DIT now has a Mature Student Access Office and they are there to help you answer those questions. The office is open every week day and there will always be someone who can meet you for a chat and talk to you about any concerns or questions you might have. DIT is committed to ensuring that DIT is a place that welcomes all people regardless of their background or previous educational experience. The first step is to make that call and who knows it might be the beginning of a new and exciting journey! http://www.communitylinks.ie/matureaccess/ http://www.dit.ie/
****** One Road In, Many Roads Out; Education as a Catalyst for Regeneration2-4th June 2010 The conference is being run jointly by the Department of Lifelong Learning and Outreach, University of Limerick and the Centre for
Community and Lifelong Learning, University of Newport, Wales. It presents an opportunity to community groups and representatives, members of the public, practitioners, policy makers, students and academics to engage in a conference on the role and links between higher education and community regeneration. The conference will present an international comparative dimension and will focus on the transformational potential of learning, both for those living within, as well as outside of, regeneration communities. The programme and presenter timetables are now available on the conference website, www.regen2010.ie. Conference fee for three days is €300. A number of reduced fee places are available for students and also for community participants. Date: 2-4th June 2010 Venue: University of Limerick Website: www.Regen2010.ie ******
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MEMBERSHIP AONTAS NEWS The AGM takes place next week at 10:00am in the Clarion Hotel, IFSC, Dublin 1. The main focus of this year’s meeting is an initial consultation process to kickstart the development of the next strategic plan. Please complete the booking form included in the pack and return before Friday, 14th May 2010 to Dympna Larkin, Membership Liaison Officer, 2nd Floor, 8387 Main St, Ranelagh, D6. Full agenda is available here. If you require any further information please contact Niamh O’Reilly noreilly@aontas.com ****** Creating a Logo for Senior Learning! Wednesday, 26 th May 2010 The next Senior Learner Network Meeting will take place on Wednesday 26th May in Dublin, 10am-3pm, during the Bealtaine Festival. One of the proposed actions will help address manifesto point 2: Creating and distribute information on the learning opportunities for older learners in every community – is the creation of a logo which identifies that the course is aimed at older people. Therefore this will be the basis for the next meeting as it moves on implementing the manifesto and is also creative, because the learners will create the logo, and therefore fits into the criteria of the Bealtaine festival. Please click here for the full agenda. Venue: Davenport Hotel Please contact Dympna at 01 4068220or write to 83-87 Main Street, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 or email dlarkin@aontas.com.
AONTAS MEMBERSHIP Over 550 learners, tutors, adult education coordinators, managers, policy makers and many other interested organisations and individuals avail of the many benefits of AONTAS Any organisation, group or individual that is involved, or interested, in adult and community education may apply for membership. If you feel that you would benefit both in your practice and personally
****** Many Happy Returns AONTAS have recently published a short booklet chartering the organisations 40 year history (1969 – 2009). For your copy, please contact Ciara Murphy, Resource & Communications Officer at cmurphy@aontas.com ******
from AONTAS join our vibrant organisation today!
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INFORMATION EDUCATION & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Information Booklet If you are interested in returning to education why not download a copy of the Information Booklet by clicking here.
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INFORMATION REFERRAL SERVICE The service is suspended until further notice. ****** www.ifpro.de
AONTAS is the National Adult Learning Organisation. It is a non-governmental organisation that exists to ensure that every adult in Ireland has access to appropriate and affordable learning opportunities throughout their lives, thus enabling them to participate in the economic, social, civic and cultural development of Irish society. For further information visit www.aontas.com or www.adultlearnersfestival.com. Apologies for any cross posting. If you no longer wish to receive information from AONTAS, please e-mail mail@aontas.com. AONTAS – The National Adult Learning Organisation 83 – 87 Main Street, Ranelagh, Dublin 6W Ph 01 4068220«Fax 014068227«E-mail mail@aontas.com Company Registration: 80958 Charity Registration: 6719