TUI has welcomed the decision to reinstate the school Summer Works scheme, but highlighted that cutbacks to teacher numbers and the middle management framework of schools must also be reversed if every student is to be given an opportunity to fulfil their potential.
‘This is welcome news, particularly for those schools that require urgent repairs and maintenance,’ said Deputy General Secretary Annette Dolan.
‘While bricks and mortar projects are of clear importance, it is also vital that the Government begins to reverse the damage done by the removal of hundreds of teachers from schools and the dismantling of the support framework formerly available to students as part of middle management structures. Alternative programmes that benefit a wide spectrum of learners such as the Leaving Certificate Applied and Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme have also been badly hit by a litany of cuts. Investment in education is investment in the future of the country, and every student must be given the opportunity to fulfil their potential.’