I wish to share my time with Deputy Martin.
Adjournment Debate. - Teachers' Threatened Industrial Action.
I am sure that is satisfactory. Agreed.
I welcome the opportunity to raise this very important issue. While I very much welcome the presence once again of the Minister of State, Deputy Allen, I cannot let the opportunity pass without expressing my disappointment that the Minister for Education is absent for the second night in a row, leaving another Minister to deal with extremely important issues pertinent to the education system.
I raise this matter under the shadow of strike action planned for tomorrow in Nenagh and Kildare — more wide-spread strike action is planned for the autumn. Primary school teachers are extremely concerned about the Minister's recruitment plans for the coming school year. The Minister yesterday refused to admit that she will not appoint remedial teachers in the academic year 1996-97. She is satisfied that she has maintained the pupil-teacher ratio this year, while she should strive to make improvements in this area. It is unfortunate the Minister has decided to use staffing schedules and the pupil-teacher ratio as blunt instruments with which to restrain the appointment of remedial teachers and curtail the ratification of teaching posts.
The Minister proposes to appoint remedial teachers only in schools in disadvantaged areas. Even though there are children from disadvantaged backgrounds with special needs in schools in every area, the Minister does not have any proposals to provide assistance to those children. It is schools outside disadvantaged areas, which number among their students children who need special help, that are targeted by the Minister in her efforts to keep recruitment levels down. These schools, even if they fall below the quota by one student, will not be allowed appoint new teachers for the coming year. The Minister is robbing Peter to pay Paul, helping some disadvantaged children at a cost to others. She is more concerned about securing newspaper headlines and lauding her work on behalf of schools in disadvantaged areas than tackling the genuine problems of disadvantage.
The Minister must meet the teachers' unions at the earliest possible date to discuss the pending industrial action and give them a chance to express their genuine concerns so that she might rethink her strategy. We spoke yesterday about the problem of indiscipline in schools and the need for back-up services for pupils and teachers who experience difficulties, yet there is silence from the Minister in this regard.
It is regrettable that we are debating a further breakdown in partnership in the education world. The failure of the Minister for Education to consult the social partners on the 1996-97 school year staffing schedules is inexcusable and unacceptable. Such an approach runs contrary to the consensus approach developed since 1987 under the Programme for National Recovery, the Programme for Economic and Social Progress and the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. This consensus involved the gradual and progressive reduction of the pupil-teacher ratio by using the demographic dividend made available by the falling birth rate. It is wrong to reverse this trend as it will create further disadvantage in many communities. The report commissioned by the Combat Poverty Agency, Education Disadvantage in Ireland, questioned the effectiveness of the present scheme for schools designated as disadvantaged, and this is the report the Minister claimed she is responding to.
The Minister has ignored such advice and has decided to allocate all extra teachers at her disposal to 25 selected schools in urban areas and 25 clusters of schools in rural areas. Yet there are approximately 3,000 schools in the system. Clearly thousands of children in urban and rural areas will suffer as a result of the Minister's initiative. There are alternative approaches. As a basic principle, any scheme for the disadvantaged should focus on the child as opposed to the school as a collective unit. Such an approach would be more inclusive. A more balanced approach is required from the Minister. I understand that if the pupil-teacher ratio was reduced by even one point this year 100 schools would not suffer the loss of a teacher. This year approximately 300 schools will lose teachers while many others will have enrolments in excess of the maximum guidelines laid down.
The situation next September will be chaotic and inequitable. It is within the Minister's power to rectify it. This is an extremely important issue and parents are united with the teachers in Nenagh and Castledermot who will go on strike tomorrow. I thank the Minister of State for being present in the House but the Minister should be here to respond to this matter.
The Minister for Education and I are extremely concerned for pupils who, through no fault of their own, will miss classes because of industrial action taken by teachers. I understand that the threatened one day strike in two primary schools tomorrow, and further strikes proposed for early in the next school year, are due to disquiet among teachers at the Minister's decision not to change the staffing schedule of primary schools for the 1996-97 school year. This action, proposed by the INTO, is totally unjustified and unnecessary and the Minister appeals to the INTO to call it off immediately.
This action by the INTO totally ignores the impressive improvements made by the Minister to the staffing of primary schools since she took office. During this period she has substantially improved the pupil-teacher ratio from 25.2:1 to 22.9:1. Despite the fact that the staffing schedule remains unchanged, there will be a further modest improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio for the 1996-97 school year.
Moreover, during the period in office, the Minister has reduced maximum class sizes by four units. At present the maximum size for a multi-grade class is 31 pupils, while a single grade class should not exceed 35 pupils. No class in any school should exceed these maxima and, where it is not possible to organise classes within these guidelines, the school should apply to the Department for an additional teaching post.
They have.
Since the staffing schedule for the 1996-97 school year remains unchanged from the 1995-96 schedule, in the normal course of events this would have resulted in a number of two teacher schools becoming one teacher units. The Minister recently announced that these schools will remain as two teacher units for the 1996-97 school year. In total, 16 schools are favourably affected by this decision.
The Minister has also introduced a maximum of 29 pupils in all classes in disadvantaged schools. Furthermore, based on recommendations of the Combat Poverty Agency and the Education Research Centre, the Minister recently announced new measures to break the cycle of education disadvantage by targeting schools in areas of particular disadvantage, both urban and rural. A total of 25 urban schools will have a maximum of 15 pupils in infants, first and second classes, while a range of special grants and other supports will be made available to 25 clusters of small rural schools.
I reject, in the strongest possible terms, any suggestions that in targeting resources towards alleviating the handicap of education disadvantage, the Minister is ignoring those schools which are not classified as disadvantaged. The Minister's record speaks for itself.
A total of 980 posts which would otherwise have been surplus due to falling enrolments were retained in the system over the past three school years. Of that total, 410 posts were used to effect substantial improvements in the pupil-teacher ratio and to reduce maximum class sizes.
In addition, 570 new posts were established in the special education-disadvantaged areas in the past three years. These included additional remedial teachers, disadvantaged concessionary posts, home-school liaison teachers, improvements in the pupil-teacher ratio in schools for severely and profoundly handicapped pupils, reduced pupil teacher ratio in special schools, resource teachers and administrative principals in special schools.
The Minister wishes to assure the INTO that officials of the Department are ready to meet with them at any time to discuss their difficulties in this matter.