Yesterday, the truth of the Government's cut to students with special needs became clear when the National Council for Special Education announced that the 42,500 special needs students will have their allocation of resulting hours cut by 12% at the start of the new school term. This means that children with autism, severe emotional disturbance, severe learning disabilities and assessed syndromes will have their special teaching hours cut by half an hour per week from four and a quarter hours to three and three-quarter hours, starting from next September. This will be more than an hour and a quarter less per week than the same student received in 2011 and constitutes an overall reduction of 25%. Similarly, students availing of special needs assistants will have their allocations cut by 10% from next September, with many losing their allocation to a designated special needs assistant.
On foot of increasing student enrolments in schools, 42,500 students will require resource teaching hours this September, which is an increase from the equivalent figure of 38,500 students last year. Similarly, 22,000 students in schools will require special needs assistants, which is an increase from the figure of 20,000 students last year. This increased student enrolment is being recognised by the Government for mainstream students who do not have a special educational need through the hiring of 450 additional mainstream teachers at primary level and 450 additional mainstream teachers at second level in order to maintain standard pupil-teacher ratios. Why are students with special educational needs not being treated in the same way by hiring the additional numbers of resource teachers and special needs assistants that are necessary to ensure they are not obliged to endure cuts? Why is the Government targeting its drive for savings in education on the most vulnerable students in the education system?
