THE National Parents' Council - Primary has called on the Minister for Education to take action to avert the strike threatened by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation later this month.
The NPC says it is no longer good enough for the Department of Education and the teacher unions alone to decide on the allocation of teachers. Parents and school managers should also be given a role in a coherent long term planning programme.
"The situation is fast developing that whoever shouts loudest will get a teacher. This can't go on. Allocations must be made in an open and accountable manner and must be seen to be made in this fashion", said Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather, NPC co ordinator.
Efforts continued yesterday to find a solution to the impasse between the Department and the INTO over the redeployment of teachers freed up by falling numbers at many schools. However, the two sides remain at odds over the exact number of teaching posts that remain to be redeployed the Department says it has about 40 to allocate, but the INTO is fighting for an additional 30 posts to be retained in the system.
The union has announced plans for a two day strike in 10 rural schools starting from September 16th, with a further escalation envisaged in succeeding weeks. It says strike action will only take place in those schools where there is "general parental support".
However, the NPC yesterday opposed the strike call, and said that children should not be used in any industrial dispute, either by parents or teachers. "It's up to the parents in each school to decide what to do, but we don't feel that they should be involved", said Ms Kilfeather.
