Education Cuts Underestimated Say Teachers

A leading Irish teachers organization has said the recent Budget cuts announced by the Education Minister underestimated the number of teachers facing 'the chop' next year.

Despite the Education Minister Batt O'Keffe's assertion that only 200 teachers will be lost, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has calculated that based on the number of pupils enrolled on September 30th, 2008, and applying the cuts as outlined in the Budget, more than 1,000 teaching posts will go.

An INTO spokesman said Budget changes had to be weighed against "the increases expected in the numbers of teachers because of demographic changes and resource teachers for special needs".

This will mean an overall net reduction of 200 posts in each sector. This is less than a single percentage of the overall number of teaching posts now in schools.

In response to the disagreement, Fine Gael's Brian Hayes said the Government must immediately publish figures on the contested teachers sacking claims.

Mr Hayes said: "If Batt O'Keeffe is so certain that only 200 teachers will be lost at primary level and 200 at secondary level, why doesn't he publish the enrollment figures that would back this up?"

"The only way to check the veracity of his claims is to immediately publish the enrollment figures in each school in the country. These figures are on this desk since September 30th last yet, despite being pushed by Fine Gael repeatedly - most recently last week by Enda Kenny in the Dáil - Batt O'Keeffe refuses to publish them."

(DW)