Martin McGuinness: Still some unease at his position

Previous ministers have crossed Northern Ireland, visiting schools for all denominations.

Now Martin McGuinness is only publicly seen in Catholic, Irish medium and special schools.

Invitations from the state or "controlled" sector are not forthcoming.

Both local ministers - McGuinness and Farren - have been busy negotiating for a greater share of the overall budget to carry out measures they want to see.

These include better school properties and more help for further and higher education students.

The highest profile issue for Mr McGuinness is, once again, the 11-plus.

New research appeared to show the whole marking system was unreliable, with very few marks separating the A from the D grades.

Review of 11-plus is under way

That was followed by the release of the government-funded study into the effects of what's called the Transfer Procedure .

It contained few surprises, but did have five suggestions for the future - a mixture of other UK solutions, and European practice.

That's being weighed up at the moment, with an independent review body collecting public opinion with a view to making recommendations by May 2000.

Further and Higher Education has been waiting to see if the widespread calls to scrap university tuition fees and restore grants would be successful.

The minister finally revealed a basket of measures which, although they do not grant everyone's wish list, have met with qualified support.

In short, tuition fees remain, although fewer people will pay them, and grants will be restored to some students from low income families.

Universities pleased with research grants

The universities in Northern Ireland benefited from a competition to win research funding.

About �20m came from government, with the condition that matching funding must be raised by each university.

Queen's University won more than the University of Ulster, but both seemed pleased with the new opportunity to pay for research in fields like physics, medical research, culture and music.

Teachers won some recognition for their efforts in the classroom, with the first Northern Ireland section of the teaching awards.

Contentious rewards

In fact one, Mary Campbell from Belfast, went a step further to win the national title of Best Special Needs Teacher in the whole of the United Kingdom.

There are still worries though, that singling out teachers for nomination may cause disharmony within schools.

Monetary rewards for teachers are a contentious issue, with negotiations still continuing on how to award a possible �2,000 each to qualifying teachers.

Unions and employers are trying to find a way of giving the money to about �13,000 teachers while avoiding the most controversial elements of the scheme in England and Wales, which is seen to reward for pupils' exam success.

Employers in Northern Ireland say they are prepared also to count in teachers' efforts to encourage pupils' other achievements, such as personal triumphs, sporting success and attendance at school.

Training competition

When agreement is reached, the money can be distributed, backdated to September 2000.

The shortage of teachers faced by schools in England and Wales is not a problem in Northern Ireland.

There is still heavy competition for training places, and thus high academic standards for successful applicants.

However, the staffing crisis in other parts of the UK is affecting training colleges, now called university colleges in Northern Ireland.

The incentives of thousands of pounds to student teachers offered in England and Wales is attracting more than usual from Northern Ireland to apply for places outside the province.