There is an urgent need to establish a "Further Education Authority", according to a group of principals who gathered at a conference this month. Such an authority could formally cater for the 21,500 adults who are attending night classes and the additional 7,000 students in part-time day classes at 75 VEC schools, according to a survey presented at the annual conference of the Association of Principals of Vocational Schools and Community Colleges.

APVSCC delegates, who met in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, were told that night courses "are organised on a voluntary basis by the principals of these schools and a small number of staff" and that "night classes are a huge drain on the overstretched regular day school". Josephine O'Donnell, president of the APVSCC, called on the Department of Education to honour its commitment in the White Paper and establish an authority.

Up to 300 delegates at the conference demanded that the promised Further Education Authority would include all part-time teachers in adult and continuing education with a view to providing an appropriate organisation and management structure, adequate staffing and finance for the level of service provided.

Another pressing issue highlighted at the APVSCC conference included the funding of the current 18,000 PLC students. "Many of these students are forced to rely on casual work in pubs, shops, etc to continue their courses", O'Donnell said. In spite of promises, "PLC student maintenance grants will not be paid this school year, resulting in much hardship," she said. Meanwhile, 250 delegates to the Secondary Schools Principals' Association of Ireland conference in Galway heard that the question of representation for principals on the recently established commission on the points system "is one of the most serious which SSPAI will face in the years ahead".

Michael McCann, outgoing president of the SSPAI, also said the process of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio should begin immediately. He added that teachers being out of the classroom for in-service courses "is having a very serious effect on the integrity of the school year and on in-class discipline. The time has come to take in-service out of normal class time and to compensate teachers who undertake such courses." Other issues highlighted at the SSPAI conference included the inadequate level of ancillary staffing to principals, the need to provide more remedial teachers and the general problem of curriculum overload.