The Teachers’ Union of Ireland today criticised the failure of government to invest meaningfully in education during the boom years after an OECD survey showed the country languishing in the relegation zone in a league table of investment in education.
The report also highlights that Irish teachers work considerably more hours than their European counterparts while the ratio of students to teachers is also higher than the European average.
Speaking today, TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:
“It is important to highlight that these comparisons are already dated as the education system has been routinely asset stripped by the Government over the last two years. Ireland would fare much worse in 2010 in any of the comparisons put forward in the report, which is based on a survey carried out in 2007.
Regardless, the OECD findings are already extremely damning. Ireland languishes in the relegation zone of a table of countries based on the proportion of national wealth spent on education. Ireland lies 30th out of 33 countries, with just the Czech Republic, Italy and the Slovak Republic spending less on education.
In addition, the ratio of students to teaching staff in Irish second level schools is higher than the average among other European member countries and the change to the teacher/pupil ratio since the survey was carried out will undoubtedly have greatly exacerbated this.
The report also endorses the work of Irish teachers, who teach 735 hours per annum compared with European average of 661 hours.
Students leaving the education system in the next few years will find it increasingly difficult to access the labour market. The very least families should expect is an education service that will provide them with the skills to maximise their life chances.”