E/1982/3/Add.16
English Page 28
Board of Education will pay fees and subsistence grants to students to enable them to attend such places elsewhere in the British Isles. There are no institutions of higher education on the Island, and accordingly Island higher education students are all supported in this way. The level of subsistence given to students is in accordance with Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations of the United Kingdom Government.
18. There is in existence on the Island a flourishing adult literacy and numeracy scheme run by volunteers. The organization has close links with the parent body in the United Kingdom, and is involved with, on the average, 60 cases a year.
De velopment of a system of schools
19.
Finance is provided by the Isle of Man Government to enable the Board of Education to maintain an acceptable level of provision, as laid down in the 1949 Education Act, in the face of a growing school population. During the past 10 years, school buildings and extensions to existing buildings have been provided.
Material conditions of teaching staff
20.
The conditions of teaching staff are in accordance with the regulations laid down in the Remuneration of Teachers Act, 1965, of the United Kingdom Parliament.
21.
Conditions of service, which have been agreed to between the Board of Education and the teachers unions, are given to each teacher on their appointment.
22.
The Board of Education has a policy concerning pupil teacher ratio with a result that the average pupil teacher ratio in secondary schools is 1 to 17 and in primary schools is 1 to 23. There is a special arrangement for the more generous staffing of small primary schools or of some primary schools in areas of special difficulty or for Special Schools.
Freedom of choice of schools for parents
23.
Parents are free, in accordance with the provision of the 1949 Education Act, to have their children education in a school of their choice. They are also free to have their children attend independent schools in preference to schools maintained and provided by the Board of Education. In the latter case, they will be required to pay a fee to those independent schools and to assist able scholars whose parents may be unable to pay such fees. The Board of Education runs two schemes, one for boys and one for girls, whereby scholarships are awarded annually for attendance at the two independent schools located in the Isle of Man.
24. There is no restriction in the Isle of Man on the right of individuals or associations to establish independent schools.
25.
Section 35 (3) of the 1949 Education Act imposes a duty on the Board of Education to support and maintain the continuance of voluntary schools which were in existence immediately before the commencement of the 1949 Education Act, and in this respect there exists three voluntary-aided primary schools, two of which service the special needs of the Catholic community and one being a Church of England School.
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