system ravaged as never before’ – TUI General Secretary
(14 Apr 2009)
In his keynote speech today, TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said that “during the past year the education system has been ravaged as never before.”
Click here to download full address
Some of the main points:
Potential chaos of moratorium on filling of school middle managements posts:
“It is clear that the Department of Finance has no knowledge as to how schools operate; no knowledge as to what happens when post-holders vital to the running of the school retire or move on. The safe operation of schools will be threatened. The potential chaos and likelihood of serious disorder in schools will be laid at the door of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance. They will be responsible and they will be held accountable. This embargo must be reviewed.”
Inequities in our education system
“These children will suffer for life from the effects of a lack of education and that will be their legacy to their children. This is not caused by poor teaching but caused by the dismantling of our system. Teachers, the most vital resources for the process are being withdrawn. Those who suffer from the lack of education will be less employable, will suffer longer periods of unemployment and will be a long-term cost to the state in financial terms.“
“Their health will also suffer; it has been shown by many research projects that there is a direct correlation between lifetime earnings and educational level. In a recent review, published by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, a strong correlation has been shown between education levels and physical health. The review drew on a substantial body of international evidence to show that those with lower levels of education are more likely to die at a younger age and are at an increased risk of poorer health throughout their life than those with higher levels of education. A close association has been found between the levels of educational achievement and a variety of diseases which, on the surface of it, have no obvious connection with education.
It is but a quirk of fate which determines whether or not a child in this country suffers the ravages of the present Government on our education system or gets a privileged education and subsequent lifestyle.”
Potential Job Losses at second level
“I have figures from VECs, and from other employers, from branches, from schools and from our colleagues in the Principals and Deputy Principals Association. These figures indicate that in the Vocational sector alone in excess of 400 wholetime equivalent positions will be lost. It is estimated that that represents approximately 600 teachers, most of whom will be on partial timetables working on average two thirds of full hours.
In order to obtain full official figures I wrote to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science on two separate occasions asking for the allocation made to the VECs and to the schools for this year and for the comparable allocations made last year. I have issued reminders about it and, yet, almost two months later, these figures have not been provided. Clearly the Department is not prepared to make public the number of teacher which it allocates to VECs and to schools, all of which are public bodies, paid for out of public funds. It is an absolute disgrace that the Department of Education and Science hides behind some veil of secrecy to conceal t hese figures from the public. “
So called ‘pension levy’
“Teachers as public sector workers recognise that everybody must share the pain, not because everybody has caused the problem, but because the problem that has been caused by the few is so big that regrettably everybody must carry some of the burden to get this country out of the mess. The alternative is probably worse. As public service workers we will carry our fair share but only our fair share. We reject unreservedly as an iniquitous tax, this pension levy, imposed as it is exclusively on public service workers. We insist that any measure taken must be fair and equitable.
Further Education sector
“Now colleagues, I am pleased to say here today that following a meeting with the Minister for Education and Science and his officials two weeks ago there is now agreement that the Department will enter discussions with the TUI with a view to the establishment of a Further Education sector. “
Going forward
“We must go forward in a united way, recognising who is the opposition, recognising that the real enemy are those who have, through greed, caused the financial disaster to our economy, finding allies where we can, seeking to persuade those in a position to make a difference to do just that using whatever power of persuasion we require because to our members and the education system we owe nothing less.”