Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 243: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if parents of children at second level schools, who believe that it is not in the interests of their children to complete transition year, are entitled to have their children transferred straight into the leaving certificate programme after junior certificate year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18813/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The transition year programme is optional for each school. A minority of schools do not offer transition year at all. In others it may be available as an optional programme for some pupils. Some schools, in deciding to offer the programme, require all pupils to take the programme in accordance with their curriculum provision across the school. In such schools — representing about 30% of the 500 schools offering the programme in the current school year — the programme is compulsory. This decision is made by school management.

If a parent is unhappy with matters concerned with the management of the school he or she may make representations to the principal, the board of management and in the case of a VEC school the local vocational education committee.