Imelda Henry (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Fine Gael spokesperson for children in the Seanad, I was contacted by the parents of a child in a school in north Dublin. The school, which is a community college, has 60 places in transition year, 84 pupils applied and their son was turned down for a place. In junior certificate year, the pupils are asked to complete an application form for transition year and, I understand, the headmaster and teachers decide who wins out in the selection process.

Transition year is very important and too advantageous to pupils to allow a local headmaster and teachers to decide who is selected for it and who is left out. Such a system is open to abuse, favouritism, discrimination and prejudice and should have no place in the world we live in today. I understand the pupils were marked by their ten teachers on a scale of zero to ten. The issue is one of equality, transparency, favouritism, discrimination, prejudice and the rights of children.

The parents who spoke to me are disappointed and their son is also disappointed that of the 18 in his class who applied 16 got places, he being one of the two who did not. No child should have to be made feel that way at school and we must do all we can to safeguard the well-being and welfare of all our children.

If there is insufficient funding for the school to offer all its pupils transition year it should not be offered to any. However, if the Minister for Education and Skills wants his schools to offer a limited number of transition year places, they should be offered on a fully transparent and random basis. Some schools, for example, have a lottery system where parents are invited to attend.

Who gives these people the right to say which child is suitable and which child is not? That decision is much too important to give to people who are close to the issue. There is a clear conflict of interest when teachers are asked to decide between a colleague's child and nobody's child. A lottery is clearly a good solution.

Children doing the junior certificate examination are at a vulnerable age and undermining their self-esteem and confidence in this manner is extremely dangerous. I highlight the current suicide problem in the country. We owe children a much higher duty of care. If a child were to self-harm as a result of being depressed or let down by such an unfair system we would regret it.

Schools should have a policy on transition year. Some schools make that policy public but they are not required to do so. I am speaking about a specific school in north Dublin, but I believe this happens in several schools throughout the country.