Cuts widen the gap between haves and have-nots
The cutbacks announced piecemeal over the past 14 months are, in the view of the TUI, a fundamental attack on the concept of equality of access to education.
Equality of access does not simply mean that all have a right to go to school. It means they all have a right to go to the school best suited to their needs and to benefit from education in an equitable manner. This may require positive action designed to take account of their particular disadvantages or special needs. These might be the result of poor family background in education, lack of parental interest, innate difficulties such as dyslexia or other learning difficulties, or a range of other problems.
Disadvantage must be addressed by the provision of appropriate supports. Where these supports are in place, the student concerned has a much greater chance of reaching their true potential. Remedial, resource and special needs teaching were developed for this purpose and a range of specific programmes were put in place to cater for those students who would otherwise be at risk of underperformance and early dropout.
The first to go was the School Completion Programme, specifically designed to retain students considered to be most at risk. This was followed later by cutbacks, which ranged from a worsening of the pupil teacher ratio (PTR) to the withdrawal of the book grant scheme from the majority of schools.
The PTR cut included a cut in the preferential ratio, which had been given in the past for specific programmes to meet the needs of more disadvantaged students -- such as the Leaving Cert Applied programme. The cut in the book grant has meant some teachers were warned at the beginning of the summer to expect to have several in classes with no hope of getting books.
The effects of these cuts were described on a number of occasions; loss of subject options to students, loss of programmes to schools, larger classes and a shorter week.
These losses are felt most by the weakest. It is a virtual truism to say that the more able students from well-off backgrounds whose parents have an interest and a strong background in education will survive, almost irrespective of the resources available to their schools, while the most marginal are potentially at risk even in the best of times.
These cuts widen the differential between the haves and the have-nots in educational terms. It is for this reason that the TUI has come out strongly against these cuts. the TUI has condemned the withdrawal of the book grant, the loss of options to students as a result of fewer teachers being in the schools, and the loss of programmes designed to retain the at-risk groups in school. In the recent past the TUI has attracted notoriety as a result of its ongoing stance of maintaining class sizes within approved guidelines, to prevent overcrowding, to maintain educational standards and to preserve a safe environment within the classrooms.
There has been much criticism coming from those charged with the responsibility of looking after and of cherishing all of our children equally. It is shameful for government spokespeople to attack the union for seeking to do what the Government itself should be doing -- that is: bringing about a more equitable society through the education system.
- Peter MacMenamin
