The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned that increased student numbers at second level cannot be used as an excuse to further attack the education system.

The union today highlighted how further cuts in teacher numbers would result in large numbers of schools being left with no choice but to drop subjects such as Honours Mathematics and Physics.

The union also stated that in the result of further cutbacks, student drop-out will reach crisis levels with devastating social, economic and even health costs for the nation.

TUI’s annual conference takes place in Tralee next week.

TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:

“Too often, young people only get one chance at education. Spending on education must be therefore regarded as capital investment rather than being seen as a source of savings in times of economic difficulty. It has never been more important that the education system be insulated from further attacks.

We all acknowledge the unprecedentedly difficult economic times, but we cannot allow marginalised young people to have their life chances shattered as a result. Not only is education appropriate to the needs of the individual a basic human right, it is also widely recognised as the fundamental necessity for the country’s economic growth and development.

Projections show that student numbers at second level will spiral by about 20% in the next twelve years, rising from around 316,000 to 380,000. The education system is already struggling to support the most vulnerable students now and this situation will be greatly exacerbated unless the correct interventions are made.

It is important to stress that an increase in the pupil teacher ratio does not mean more students in class - it means less teachers in school. In a large school, an upward revision of the PTR by a point could mean a loss of two teachers or 1,470 tuition hours.  In such a situation, hard-pressed principals would have to decide on how best to serve the needs of all students with the available teaching resources. The inevitability is that those ‘minority’ subjects that cater for only a small number of students would be culled, which would see Honours Maths and Physics reluctantly discarded in many schools.  Ironically, these subjects have been identified by all stakeholders as crucial to foster if we are to fully embrace the knowledge based economy.

The system is about to come under unprecedented pressure with an average of over 5,300 additional students in the system every September for the next twelve years. It follows that additional investment in the system just to maintain pupil teacher ratios and key supports will be necessary to give every child the best possible chance to, at a very minimum, obtain the Leaving Certificate.

Student drop-out already runs at a rate of about 20% nationally, and 30% in the Dublin city area. This unacceptably high ratio will increase seismically unless the requisite supports, programmes and frameworks that protect vulnerable children are maintained and enhanced as demand inevitably increases.

Failure to insulate the education system will have a number of hugely damaging implications for our society:

• Socially, thousands of young people will fall through some of the gaping cracks that have developed in our education system. By stark contrast with investment in education, the cost of keeping a prisoner in the prison service can be as much as €270,000 per annum. A fair, equitable and fully resourced education system creates a fairer society and supports active citizenship.  Apart from compelling social considerations, it is economic madness to remove the education support which will keep these young people away from this fate.
   
• Economically, the country will be crippled with an ever-rising social welfare bill.  When the cost of supporting an unemployed teacher on the dole is added to the loss in the tax they would pay if employed, the total is in excess of €20,000 per annum.  It follows that a teacher on part time hours on the lower end of the scale could be employed for as little as €5,000 more than this.
   
• There is a strong and clear correlation between education and health/life expectancy. Increasing educational attainment ultimately leads to a decreased healthcare bill. Conversely, an increase in the proportion of students falling by the wayside will have catastrophic results for public health and public finances.

Ultimately, failure to invest appropriately in education will result in the Department being in clear breach of its mission statement of enabling individuals to achieve their full potential and to participate fully as members of society and to contribute to Ireland's social, cultural and economic development.”