Cork South Central Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer has said that the launch of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy “provides a framework to ensure that each child leaves school equipped to maximise their abilities in modern society”. The National Strategy which was launched today (Friday 8th July 2011) by Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D. aims to improve literacy and numeracy among children and young people.
Deputy Buttimer said “One in ten children In Irish schools has serious difficulty with reading or writing; in some disadvantaged schools this is as high as almost one in three students. The Strategy aims to increase the numbers of children performing at the highest levels in the national assessments of reading. It also aims to reduce by 5% those performing at the lowest level.
“The strategy will also target numeracy skills. According to the results of the PISA 2009 tests about one-fifth of Irish students did not have sufficient mathematical skills to cope with every-day life and Ireland also had significantly fewer high performing students than other countries. Numeracy skills are vital for every-day life and we must ensure that children are sufficiently numerate when they leave school.
“I welcome the announcement by the Minister. It provides a framework to ensure that each child leaves school equipped to maximise their abilities in modern society.”