One of the few benefits of the school closures is that it has highlighted several structural problems in our education system. The plan to partially reopen schools in early January was illustrative of this fact. For more than 80 years our education system has been fragmented by history, meaning that it now lacks any sense of agility. Cumulatively, these issues point to a final fundamental weakness in our system: the absence of a national consensus on the primary purpose of the education system. With their values-driven vision, the development of their education system has followed an agreed logical trajectory for decades, regardless of which parties were in government.

Source: The Irish Times February 23, 2021 00:01 UTC