IRELAND: EDUCATION MINISTER HELEN MCENTEE TD REDUCES TEACHING TIMES

Written by Michael Thervil

IRELAND: EDUCATION MINISTER HELEN MCENTEE TD REDUCES TEACHING TIMES | PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN

[Ireland Helen McEntee education] When it comes to education, Ireland ranks number 10 in the world, and because of that Ireland not only consistently performs well in terms of international standardized tests; but Ireland ranks above average compared to other similar industrialized countries when it comes to literacy and math. But there's a shift occurring and many educators in Ireland are wondering how this new shift in how education is taught in the lower grades will affect the academic performance of students over time. Recently, the Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD is looking to implement a new framework which will take effect in every special school and primary school across Ireland. A change of this magnitude hasn’t been seen since the late 1990s.

The changes that the Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD are looking to improve upon in the 2026-2027 school years are centered around the ability for students to communicate better, the addition of foreign languages, the ability for students to engage in activities that stimulate innovation, integrated learning, and well-being. But the biggest thing that the Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD is looking to change is the time educators will spend on specific subjects. The Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD is looking to reduce 45 minutes of educational time for the teaching of both English and Irish language.

The Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD is also calling for a 15-minute reduction per week for first and second graders, and a whopping 60-minute reduction in class time for third and 12^th graders when students start to learn a modern third foreign language. Changes by The Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD has sparked outcry from organizations such as the Gaeilge and Conradh and even the Gaeloideachas around the country. From their perspective the reduction of time needed for students to learn Irish may have adverse effects in future that may not be reversed. In response the department of education has stated that their concerns are unwarranted because the students can get extra time during a teacher's “flex time”.

From the perspective of the Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD, the additional flex time allocated to teachers will allow them to decide on how to effectively spend more time on the subject matter they deem their students need the most assistance in. As far as if students will get enough time to learn Irish, the board of education stated that students would get the opportunity to learn all the Irish they need through both direct communication and management as well as content and language integrated learning (CLIL).

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Studying a language does more than allow one to communicate more effectively. The study of language trains and allows one to “think” in the language being taught and learned. Also, language plays a vital role in “shaping” the psychological make up of a person and the greater society that the individual finds themselves a part of. Concepts such as cultural awareness, strategic understanding of abstract concepts, and how to socialize are also key components of how and why one language is so important.

While Ireland's department of education can make the claim that students will obtain the opportunity to learn Irish via everyday use and their teachers flex time – outside formal instruction, people tend to speak their native language both incorrectly and informally most of the time due to variables such as geographical differences in dialect. The question is, if the students of Ireland can’t decipher the proper speaking and enunciation of Irish/Gaeilge languages via formal instruction, how long will it take for a new form variation of Irish/Gaeilge to form?