A conference taking place later this week has confirmed it will discuss the topic of primary and secondary school patronage.

The Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) will meet on Wednesday and Thursday (September 15th and 16th 2010) in Killenard, County Laois, to talk about the main issues of education in Ireland.

An IVEA spokesman told the Sunday Business Post that school patronage was an issue to be handled.

He said: "Vocational Education Authorities (VECs) feel that recent media attention tends to focus on other bodies, while the VECs' multi-denominational second level and primary schools are not sufficiently recognised as the state's multi-denominational, multi-belief school sector."

The representative added that these schools are "not a recent phenomenon".

Earlier this summer, the Department of Education released a report which highlighted 43 areas where the Catholic Church could divest patronage of its primary schools.

Other topics to be discussed at the conference include equity and opportunity in education.

Written by Donal Walsh  

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