The Government has been urged to invest more funds in primary and secondary schools, following the release of statistics by the Department of Education and Science.
The Key Education Statistics report, which looks at trends and international comparisons in education from 1993/94 to 2003/04, shows that investment in third-level education here is above the EU average but levels of expenditure at primary and secondary level are below average.
The statistics show an improvement in literacy skills, with 11 per cent of 15-year-olds in Ireland categorised as low achievers in reading literacy, compared with 19.8 per cent of 15-year-olds in other EU countries.
There has also been a reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio in both primary and post-primary schools, from 24.3:1 in 1993/94 to 17.1:1 in 2003/04 in primary schools, and from 16.7:1 to 13.6:1 for the same years in post-primary schools.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin welcomed the publication of the statistics and said she was particularly satisfied that the number of graduates in mathematics, science and technology, at 24 per 1,000 of population, was double the European average.
However, John Carr, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, said the statistics show primary schools are always bottom of the pile.
"Last week when the Leaving Certificate results were released there was concern about the numbers that had failed maths. These problems start at primary school. Not investing sufficiently at this level is like skipping the foundations of a building - it is a false economy."
He said primary schools all over the country are subsidised by parents and communities in the form of fundraising activities.
He also argued that improvements in pupil-teacher ratios are due to the increase in special needs teachers in primary schools and do not affect class sizes.
Teachers' Union of Ireland education officer John MacGabhann welcomed the steady increase in numbers taking primary teacher training, but said the small increase in post-primary teacher training was disappointing.
He said there needed to be more opportunities for permanent employment for teachers of science subjects. He also said the increase in full-time students at institutes of technology was at least partly attributable to the abolition of third-level fees and the reintroduction of fees could not be justified.
ASTI general secretary John White said the Republic is ranked 20th out of 26 OECD countries when it comes to funding per second-level student.
"We cannot continue to rely on the goodwill of schools and teachers, who are working to deliver a quality education service for all pupils in the face of inadequate funding and resources. Placing such a burden on schools is unacceptable given Ireland's relative wealth by international standards," he said.
