TUI conference: The Minister for Education announced 100 new jobs for teachers of Post-Leaving Cert courses (PLCs) when she addressed the TUI annual congress in Dublin yesterday.
Ms Hanafin said this would allow for an expansion in the provision of such courses.
About 30,000 students are doing post-leaving courses in a variety of areas, from beauty therapy to catering. The practical courses are geared towards preparing students for work by giving them specific skills. They can also act as a stepping stone to further education.
While the Minister's announcement was welcomed by TUI president Paddy Healy, he said that the cap which had been placed on student numbers for these courses would have to be lifted. Student intake has been capped at 2002 levels.
Dublin delegate Marie Humphries said 100 jobs were "a drop in the ocean" when it was considered that they would equate to only three new jobs each for the 33 Vocational Educational Committees (VEC). Several speakers said they would not co-operate with any quality assurance procedures until the cap on PLC numbers was lifted.
Dún Laoghaire teacher Jerry Craughwell said further education courses had been built on the backs of teachers at no cost to the State yet the State was unwilling to support teachers in this work.
Delegates also called for the immediate implementation of the McIver report - a Department of Education-commissioned report which charts the way forward for the further education sector.
Ms Hanafin also addressed the issue of league tables that ranked schools according to the number of pupils who went to university, saying they did not give fair credit to schools or teachers.
She said the huge amount of extra curricular work done by teachers was not properly recognised in this country.
Ms Hanafin gave the example of the success of a recent Co Dublin VEC concert in the National Concert Hall.
"You will never see that talked about in the league tables which talk about the number of students not that go into third level but the number of students that go to university." That was "such a narrow focus", she said.
"And until we can find some method of giving information about the range of activity and the range of support which we are giving in our schools throughout this country then league tables do not give fair credit to our schools and to you as the teachers."
Mr Healy welcomed Ms Hanafin's €40 million package to combat educational disadvantage but said the union would be seeking more information on the details.
The package includes new posts, more libraries, greater home/school/community liaison and special paid sabbatical leave scheme for teachers in disadvantaged schools.
TUI delegates also welcomed the announcement of 100 additional career guidance posts, some specifically targeted at the most disadvantaged schools.
However, Mr Healy said the union was disappointed with the last Budget as it did not place a stronger focus on investment in education.
He did not blame Ms Hanafin as she had only taken up her ministry at that stage. She was "like a sub who had been brought on in the last 10 minutes of an All-Ireland which was already well lost", Mr Healy said.
"But this year, Minister, you are on from the first whistle and you are the captain."
Mr Healy criticised a forthcoming OECD report which will recommend that teachers' permanent contracts are replaced with renewable contracts, subject to renewal every seven years.
"We strongly reject these recommendations and we call on the Irish Government to adopt a similar position," Mr Healy said.
