The Teachers’ Union of Ireland today warned that an increase in the PTR in second level schools would wreak irreparable damage on the education system, putting particular strain on the retention of subjects such as physics and maths. The union illustrated how a large school would lose two teachers or 66 classes of tuition if the ratio was to increase by a point.

Speaking today, TUI Deputy General Secretary Annette Dolan said:

“There is a common misconception that an increase in the PTR in second level schools only leads to one more pupil in classrooms. The reality is starkly different.
Essentially, a large school would lose two teachers or 66 classes of tuition every week if the ratio was to increase from 19:1 to 20:1, wreaking irreparable damage on the education system.

The survival of ‘minority’ subjects would come under serious threat. For example, an English or French class in the public school system may have up to 30 students, while a physics or honours maths class might only cater for ten or twelve students depending on demand.

If the PTR was increased again, school management would still have to timetable for hundreds of students with less tuition time. Management will have no choice but to maintain those subjects where larger numbers of students are catered for and the inevitability is that ‘minority’ subjects will be squeezed out.

As a result of the last PTR increase, we are aware that many class groups are already mixing both higher and ordinary levels or fifth and sixth year students in the same classroom in a last effort to offer the subjects.

Most gallingly, Physics and Maths are exactly the subjects that we must actively promote if the education system is to have any role as a driver for economic recovery. An increase in the PTR would do untold damage to this aspiration.
Students at second level have only one chance. Weaker students need more support in smaller class groups, not less support in bigger groups. An increase in the PTR would also have repercussions for the integration of those students with special educational needs.

Our international reputation and the future of our young people are at stake here. The system cannot sustain another PTR increase.”