From the 1950s onward, communities debated the need for secondary schools at every crossroads and street corner. The arguments were based on the premise that if primary education could be made generally available, why could the same not be done in respect of secondary education. That debate did not take account, however, of what was already happening in the primary sector, which was moving away from the national school structures that had already existed for the best part of a century. In addition, it failed to take account of the rapidly changing thinking on the need for a more rounded education, involving a wider choice of subjects, and the need for greater resources, including specialised teaching and improved facilities.