ASTI - Ireland's main second level teachers union

<- Back to: Press Releases

 

Thousands of second-level students could miss out on science education if cuts to teacher numbers go ahead, the ASTI has warned.

Responding to reports that the pupil-teacher ratio may be increased in Budget 2012, ASTI General Secretary Pat King said: “Ultimately economic recovery is about jobs. If the pupil-teacher ratio is increased by one, almost every second level school in the country will lose between one and three teachers. Schools will be forced to drop subjects and classes. For many young people this will impact on their career and study options, whether or not they will get work in Ireland, and what kind of job they will have. It’s that serious”.

Pat King said non-mainstream subjects are most likely to be dropped by schools as a result of an increase in the pupil-teacher ratio. This is because these subjects are often not taken by the majority of students. “Physics, for example, is vulnerable, yet this subject is key to Ireland’s job creation strategy. Physics is essential for a wide range of knowledge-based careers including most types of engineering as well as careers in the technology industry, in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and in the growing renewable energy sector.”

The ASTI General Secretary said second-level schools are already over-stretched following a series of regressive cuts over the past three years. “Yes the country is in dire straits, but we still need a coherent pathway out of this. It is widely accepted that a knowledge-driven economy based on sustainable jobs is the way out. We must ensure that young people have the education and skills they need to live and work in such an economy.”

Cuts will scupper reform

Ambitious plans to reform the Junior Cycle programme will become impossible if schools have to deal with further cuts, warned Pat King. “Last week the Minister for Education and Skills launched a complex and ambitious set of proposals to reform the Junior Cycle. The Minister acknowledged the challenge of implementing this reform given the environment in which teachers and schools operate today. If Budget 2012 further diminishes schools’ resources, it will make a complete mockery of the Minister’s reform plan.”

Finally, speaking ahead of a pre-budget briefing with the Department of Education and Skills this week, the ASTI General Secretary said it is vital that every parent is made aware of the implications of further cuts to second-level education for their child’s future.

Ends