Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I reflect the views expressed by many Senators on the points system and league tables. It worries me that we have this clinical approach to education. Young people of 17 or 18 years of age with leaving certificates behave as 12 year olds because they never had a chance to grow up in a natural way, think about themselves as people, know the values around them and be involved in other aspects of life rather than learning by rote in order to gain points for third level educations.

It concerns me that there is no educational philosophy. I would welcome a debate to squash what is occurring, namely, every school being measured by progression levels into third level education. If this is the way forward, I will fight it. I do not want a system of education that does not develop personalities and values in our young people. People of 21 years of age do not know how to behave. All that matters to them is that they have degrees or achieved a certain number of points. There is nothing wrong with getting points as long as one achieves a balance between identity, self-esteem, personality development and education.