MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn should jettison radical plans for exam reform and instead focus on preserving teacher numbers in schools, a teacher union leader has said.
Amid controversy about Government plans to increase class size, Peter MacMenamin of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland said the education system should “effectively tread water” and abandon plans to introduce expensive programmes.
Elsewhere, Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames said the Minister needs to “think seriously” before pushing for an increase in class size. “While I am supportive of the Minister’s reforming zeal, let’s be cautious and think this one out.”
Mr Quinn is pushing for a reform of the exam system after Ireland’s literacy and numeracy rating declined dramatically in the most recent global rankings.
Interviewed on morning radio, Mr MacMenamin yesterday said: “This is not the time to be making educational innovations. The Government is trying to change the Junior Cert, change programmes which are all going to be resource-demanding and are all going to cost money. Any of the changes, which are long overdue in Junior Cert – don’t get me wrong on this one – they are long overdue, but they cost money.
“What I’m saying and what the TUI is saying is now is not the time to make those changes, they can wait. We need to effectively tread water as we are at the moment, don’t worsen the situation and also not make changes which are going to cost money at the expense to the young people of the number of teachers in a school.
“The resource a school needs are teachers . . . I’m not just saying that in the interest of the employment of teachers. Principal teachers will tell us, school management will tell us they need teachers . . . badly.”
The Department of Education confirmed it has proposed an increase in class size at primary and second level to achieve savings of more than €75 million.
The TUI said the most modest increase in the pupil-teacher ratio would see big schools losing two teachers or 66 classes of tuition if the ratio was to increase from 19:1 to 20:1. This would wreak irreparable damage on the system, the union said.
It also said minority subjects like physics and chemistry may no longer be offered by schools.
Mr MacMenamin said: “Physics and maths are exactly the subjects that we must actively promote if the education system is to have any role as a driver for economic recovery. An increase in the pupil teacher ratio would do untold damage to this aspiration.”
General secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland Pat King said a move to increase class size would undermine Ireland’s prospects for recovery. He also said he would not countenance any pay cuts for teachers in order to ease pressure on the education budget.
Fianna Fáil spokesman on education Brendan Smith said the proposal would “undo the progress made over the last decade”.
He also pointed out that Mr Quinn had vowed to protect class sizes during a Dáil debate in April.
Sinn Féin education spokesman Seán Crowe said the move represents another U-turn from Fine Gael and Labour.
