The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) today warned that classroom activities will be severely hampered in disadvantaged communities next September due to a shortage of school books among students. Teachers are being warned by school authorities to prepare to teach classes with students who do not have books.
The union has described the withdrawal of €7.5m school book aid as ‘the cruellest cut’ and believes it will even prevent the introduction of new curricula.
TUI is suggesting strongly that there should be no syllabus changes while the book grant remains suspended. Every time there is a syllabus change all previous books for the subject are made redundant and new books are produced by the publishers.
TUI’s annual conference takes place in Cork next week.
Speaking today, TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:
“TUI represents teachers working in second level schools in some of the most deprived communities in Ireland. A large number of members have expressed serious concern to us that classroom activities could be severely affected due to the removal of school book aid and the worsening financial situations of families. They have already been told to be ready for classes in September with no books and to make alternative arrangements.
The withdrawal of school book aid in the longer term will perhaps prove to be the cruellest education cut. This cutback will save the State a meagre €7.5m. Ironically, the exact same figure has been spent in the last four years on printing and distribution of Departmental reports.
This measure will have much deeper consequences than is immediately understood.
TUI is suggesting strongly that there should be no syllabus changes while the book grant remains suspended. Every time there is a syllabus change all previous books for the subject are made redundant and new books are produced by the publishers. This will put impossible pressures on families who in addition to having to cope with additional taxes, levies and other costs now find they have to pay for books. The Minister has justified increasing class sizes to levels from several years ago by saying that they were adequate at that time. TUI says that the syllabus in operation now is adequate until the book grant can be restored to the deserving families.
Teachers cannot instruct on a new curriculum if only a third or a half of the class have the updated course text.
Due the harsh range of levies imposed in the April budget, students from low income families attending a schools with DEIS status will especially be hit by this primitive budgetary measure.”
Cost of ‘free’ education
“Parents have advised TUI that the cost of books for a student for a full five year cycle could cost around €1,250, depending on the combination of subjects. For parents with two or three children in the education system, this is a significant financial burden.
Even before this cutback, Ireland had the unwelcome distinction of being one of the few European countries where schoolbooks are not provided free to all students in the education system. Students across the border or across the Irish Sea have an automatic entitlement to free school books.
What does this tell us about the Government’s so called commitment to protecting the most vulnerable and investing in education as the main lever to long term recovery? It tells us that it has little or no understanding of the dispersed nature of disadvantage in Irish society and the mammoth task facing schools that strive to ensure equitable provision for all students.
There is a very definite link between educational achievement, employment prospects and earning power. The short term and long term costs to our young people, particularly those families most hit by the current recession, together with the cost to the economy and society in general far outweighs the relatively small saving that cutting book aid has secured for the Exchequer.”
Charitable Organisations – ‘safety net’ for Government failure
“The St Vincent de Paul organisation noticed an unprecedented increase in requests for education related aid at the start of the last school year. With the economic situation having worsened significantly since then, this pressure will increase greatly.
Organisations such as St Vincent de Paul were already subsidising our education system even in the boom years. For example, the organisation spent €3.4m in educational support in 2007 alone.
It is inevitable that they will struggle to meet new demands and it is unacceptable to TUI that such organisations be a ‘safety net’ for the failings of the Government.
Regardless of the difficult choices our policy makers face, the education of young people should be immunised from cutbacks. The cruellest cut of all – effectively denying students’ books – needs to be rowed back before the next school year.”