Irish second-level schools lag behind the international average across a range of key measures from having enough teachers and digital devices to the quality of buildings. Wide disparities between Ireland and other countries across the developed world are highlighted in new report from the international think-tank, the OECD. Teacher unions say the findings confirm their claims about a lack of investment in Irish education, noting that the recent OECD Education at a Glance 2020 report ranked Ireland in last place out of 36 countries for investment in second-level education as a percentage of GDP. Read MoreThe OECD also looked at schools’ digital infrastructure and found students in Ireland are less well-served than comparator countries. 45pc in schools where the principal reported that an effective online learning support platform was available compared to the OECD average of 54pc.

Source: Irish Independent September 29, 2020 16:18 UTC