Free Education?
The collection of Leaving Cert results by students at Gorey Community School this morning marks the end of up to a dozen years of education.
For some it will be a happy end to some of the best days of their lives, for others it will be a welcome end to a time in their lives they would rather forget. Either way it will be an end to 12 years of so-called free education.
However for those parents with children heading back to primary or secondary school in Gorey in a couple of weeks time, this part of the year represents one of the most financially stressful times of the year.
From uniforms to books, administration fees to the school bags the cost associated with the dreaded return to school are huge. It seems as if this time of the year has become another Christmas or Easter for retailers, with signs in all the big supermarkets highlighting their great Back to School value are prominent from early July.
Books for a secondary school student can cost up to €400 and it seems as if the publishers are dictating the timeline for changing books, bringing out revised editions every couple of years so people have to shell out again. The revised editions are essentially the same as the older ones but with pages changed and a couple of extra paragraphs here and there.
The issue of school uniforms is another issue which annoys parents as it seem that someone is making a fortune out of the branded jumpers and tracksuits children have to buy these days.
The problem with uniforms is that a generic grey or navy jumper in a supermarket can cost as little as €10 whereas parents have to shell out up to €40 and more for the same jumper with a school crest emblazoned on it.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that children of school-going age can be very cruel when it comes to trivial matters such as having the wrong type of jumper or school bag. Children will pick on the one kid who has the jumper which is slightly different from the one everyone else is wearing. Some children can deal with this, but the more self-conscious children will retreat further into themselves.
While it may seem trivial to grown-ups, these little things can mean a lot in the school environment when children will use anything they can to get an advantage and mock someone else.
While one of the purposes of school uniforms is to eliminate such discrimination as in principle everyone is wearing the same clothes, if those clothes are just too expensive, it will lead to differences in what students wear.
Parents of secondary school children will be shelling out up to €1,000 per pupil when everything is taken into account. Hardly the free-education the government is so proud of. Imagine if, like most families you have more than one child of school-going age and you quickly realise how September can become the most financially stressful time of the year. At least at Christmas it’s all about one day and its then over.
While September represents the pinnacle of money being spent, throughout the year there are additional costs such as school trips and exam papers which will add to the already large bill for your child’s education.
The solution is pretty simple it seems. School authorities should look at reducing the amount of book changes taking place for subjects, they should look at allowing generic school uniforms to be purchased, onto which school crests can be sewn and they should generally be more aware of the amount of money parent’s are spending on education.
However as the students collect their Leaving Cert results this morning, parents will now be facing the possibility of their children heading to college – which, no matter what the government tell you, is certainly not free.