The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has described as ‘an outrage’ the non-replacement of the National Co-ordinator of the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme, who retired yesterday.

For a miniscule saving – little more than the cost of one permanent teacher - the union believes the Department is damaging the aspirations of thousands of young people and that a subsequent increase in student drop-out is inevitable. Typically, around 6% of Leaving Certificate students take the LCA option each year.

TUI understands that due to the embargo on public service appointments, one person will now be responsible for co-ordinating both the LCA and Transition Year (TY) programmes.

Speaking today, TUI President Bernie Ruane said:
“Not every student is suited to the traditional Leaving Certificate. It is therefore vital that alternative programmes which offer both experiential and academic learning methodologies are provided to allow every student the opportunity of reaching their potential. Now more than ever, these students need to be supported. The stark alternative is that our drop-out rates increase further.

The non-filling of this post is an absolute outrage and an insult to those students who wish to complete the LCA programme. There is an attendant irony in that the programme has always pioneered continuous assessment throughout its two year cycle, which seems to be a model that many parties wish the Junior Certificate programme to move towards.

We are gravely concerned by the fall in the number of students who completed the programme and also the fall in the number of distinctions and merits this year. The fall of 5% in the number of students who completed the programme this year is completely out of line with the slight reduction of 0.3% on last year for all Leaving Certificate programmes. In addition, there was also a fall in the level of grades achieved.

At best, the Department of Education and Skills is being overly-bureaucratic. However, there may be an element of academic snobbery at play here, we believe. In the greater scheme of the education budget, this position represents a miniscule financial outlay and it is safe to assume that this cutback will impact on very few, if any, students in schools in affluent communities which operate selective enrolment policies. Even in the current climate, this small cost could be easily absorbed and saved elsewhere.

There is no logic in the re-assignment of duties as there is no connection between the Transition Year and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes, with a completely different student profile catered for in each.
Established in 1995, the programme has made a huge difference to the life outcomes of young people who may otherwise have dropped out of the system after the Junior Cycle. However, it has been targeted for specific brutal treatment in terms of cutbacks over the last three years.
Almost 380 schools or centres provide the LCA programme, but as many as 30 schools dropped the programme in 2010/11 due to the removal of the preferential pupil teacher ratio and the grants for the programme.
It would be completely unjustifiable for this situation not to be remedied urgently.”