Irish Vocational Education Association

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High Court ruling welcomed by Irish Vocational Education Association
10 July 2009
Today’s High Court judgment in favour of Co Westmeath Vocational Education Committee (VEC), which appealed the decision of a Section 29 Committee to overturn a decision of a school Board of Management not to enrol a pupil, is welcomed by the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA).
This decision validates the authority of the school Board of Management to act in the interests of the school, and it further confirms the role conferred on VEC Boards of Management by the Education Act (1998) and the Vocational Education Act (2001).
IVEA General Secretary Michael Moriarty says, “A school Board of Management has recognised functions and has authority to act in the interests of the school. IVEA and its member VECs have often taken issue with the apparent excessive powers of Section 29 committees.
“IVEA has been arguing for some time that Section 29 Appeals Committees seem to view themselves as a school placement service. School enrolment policies need to be practical, inclusive, appropriate and transparent, and in this context the current appeals process is often perceived as unfairly weighted against school boards of Management
“IVEA has also been calling for appropriate training for members of Section 29 Appeals Committees. In essence, IVEA has been of the view that there needs to be a complete overhaul of the operation of Section 29.
“Today’s High Court ruling is therefore welcomed because it asserts the supremacy of the school Board of Management over a Section 29 Appeals Committee established by the Department of Education and Science.”
The Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) represents the interests, at national level of Ireland's thirty-three Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

The VECs are statutory education authorities currently delivering educational programmes up to 100,000 second level pupils and 200,000 adult education learners. The day-to-day administration of the association is carried out by the secretariat, headed by the General Secretary, Mr Michael Moriarty in the IVEA's head office in Dublin.
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