SCHOOL PRINCIPALS are experiencing “severe difficulties” in timetabling for the coming year, due to cutbacks and uncertainty over teaching resources, the main representative body for principals has claimed.
Kevin Whyte, president of the Principals and Deputy Principals Association (PDA) of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), said there would be considerably fewer teachers in schools next week.
“Principals are now trying to finalise timetables for the academic year 2009/2010 which is proving very difficult if not impossible within the guidelines and recommendations set down by the Department of Education,” he said.
The vast majority of schools start back next Monday or Tuesday.
The main difficulties faced by principals, according to Mr Whyte, are,
* a reduction in teacher allocation and so insufficient teaching hours to cover the subjects contracted to students;
* the possible loss of such subjects as physics, chemistry, art and music;
* the dismantling of the middle management which will result in important tasks not being done, and,
* the loss of teaching and management expertise which will lead to a leadership and experience deficit in our schools/colleges.
Among the immediate possible implications in some schools were the loss of some subjects, the loss of some extracurricular activities and the loss of some innovative programmes such as Transition Year, and the Leaving Cert Applied programme which functions particularly well in retaining pupils in the education system who may otherwise drop out.
TUI president Don Ryan said the union was “extremely concerned” by the issues raised and would be monitoring the situation closely while “liaising with principals in the coming days and weeks.”
