A NEW report published last week has highlighted alarming education statistics in disadvantaged Northside areas.
In Ballymun 24 per cent of the population haven’t had any second level education, while in Finglas North and Glasnevin 22 per cent also have no school experience beyond primary level.
This compares to just 9.6 per cent in Drumcondra and a national average of 15.2 per cent.
Research in the report, launched at the Marino Institute for Further Education, was carried out by research body Shared Insight. It covered the Ballymun, Beaumont, Drumcondra, Finglas North & Glasnevin and Kilmore & Priorswood areas.
In 2011 Respond! established Respond! College in Drumcondra and commissioned the report to identify education gaps and align its services more closely with community needs.
The report highlights the impact of spending cutbacks in the education sector that have resulted in a reduction in services and uncertainty about the future of local education services.
“It’s an age-old truism. Those who have more gain more, those with less end up with less. And so it is with education,
? a spokesperson for Respond! College said.
“Despite all the efforts that have been made over the years there remains a yawning gap in [education] participation rates across the city of Dublin.
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According to the report the Northside areas with the highest percentages of the population aged over 15 with technical, certificate and degree level qualifications are Beaumont, Drumcondra, and Whitehall.
The area with the highest percentage of people unemployed is Ballymun at 19 per cent, one and half times the Dublin average of 11.6 per cent.
Unsurprisingly Ballymun also has the lowest percentage of people at work (40.8 per cent). In Whitehall 41.1 per cent are working but 20 per cent of the population is retired.
In Dublin as a whole almost one third of the population are educated to degree level but the figure for Kilmore & Priorswood is just 8.7 per cent while in Ballymun it’s only 11.6 per cent.
Despite the poor figures for the area, the report points out that education levels in Ballymun have actually improved since 2006, when 28.7 per of the population was educated to only primary level.
Respond! say the improvement is the result of intensive investment in social regeneration and education in the area.
Of the areas featured in the report Drumcondra (44.2 per cent) has the highest proportion of population educated to degree level. Finglas North & Glasnevin (18 per cent) is lower than the national average, while Beaumont (24.4 pre cent) and Whitehall (27.6 per cent) are close to the national average of 31.6 per cent.
Respond! say the statistics in the report should give new impetus to the disparity in educational participation in the capital.
“For a country that styles itself as the best small country to do business in, and holds out the promise to foreign investors of the next generation of digital, scientific and financial leaders, these figures tell an altogether different story,
? a spokesperson said.
The report concludes that:
“The area north of Drumcondra is not a uniformly disadvantaged area. Drumcondra is a particularly affluent area, while Whitehall and Beaumont are marginally well off.
“However, disadvantage is concentrated in Ballymun, Kilmore & Priorswood and Finglas North & Glasnevin, where levels of social housing and unemployment are higher, and levels of education much lower than average.
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Report author Dr Siobhan O’Sullivan added:
“The report shows the impact of spending cutbacks and changes in funding to the community education sector that have resulted in reductions in services and uncertainty about the future of certain organisations and the services they provide.
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Respond! College has recently introduced a new BA Course in Housing and Community Studies designed to support up to 10 community workers. Speaking at the launch of the report Fr Peter McVerry said:
“I welcome this revealing report from Shared Insight, and the establishment of Respond!’s BA Course in Housing and Community Studies for mature students predominantly living or working in such communities is a whole-hearted response to its findings.