Galway parents have been reminded that national rules prohibit schools from requiring payments as part of the second-level admissions process.
“The ban on fees is very broad,” according to local campaigner Andrew Ó Baoill. “Schools should not be including any request for payment with offers of places, particularly where that might cause parents to believe the payment is required in order to secure a place.”
The advice comes as the annual window for appliactions opens up in local schools.
“Confusingly, each school has its own timeline and requirements, though we are seeing greater alignment than a number of years ago. Still, this can be a confusing and stressful time for parents, with families applying to an average of three schools each.”
Local campaigners have been calling for a centralised online application system for Galway, and have recently received confirmation from the Department of Education that an ongoing pilot in some towns is designed to “lay the groundwork for a robust, nationwide system.”
Helpfully, the Department recognises that the current system – with duplicate applications and students applying from outside a local area “can make it seem like schools are more full than they are.”
Still, campaigners like Ó Baoill recognise that a centralised system will not address all the flaws of the current system.
“While the department recognise issues with demand for special class provision, a centralised system will only speed up the process of identifying the mismatch of capacity and demand.
“We need increased capacity and increased investment in advance planning. There is no reason why the level of demand should be a surprise each year – nor for capacity to be so divorced from actual year-on-year demand,” he said.
