It is the 21st anniversary of the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programme, but the Government is still neglecting and under-resourcing this vital education sector, writes Jim Dorney, general secretary of the Teachers' Union of Ireland

The Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) sector is a bridge between school, work and third-level education. It provides further education and training for those who need reskilling or their education fully developed in a changing society.

Every other country in Western Europe has a well-developed further education (FE) sector. Ireland, however, deals with this sector in the context of second-level school structures and resources which are inadequate. This must change, in the interest of the students, of teachers and society. Lifelong learning is now a necessity, not a luxury and it is the PLC colleges that are best suited to dealing with this challenge.

The PLC area started with schools and teachers developing courses to meet the needs of their students. There was no overall plan, there was no vision as to where and how the sector could be developed.

The programme commenced in Ireland in 1985, and its rapid expansion continues to represent a unique success story in our country's education system. The figures speak for themselves. Between 1989 and 2000 the number of students attending PLC colleges doubled to 24,000, with the total currently in the system now over 30,000.

In all 220 schools and colleges provide FE, with over 75 per cent of the provision taking place in 43 larger colleges spread throughout the country, from Cavan to Carlow, Waterford to Tralee, Moate to Limerick, Galway to Louth, Cork and Dublin.

PLC colleges provide courses in areas as diverse as architecture and film production, graphic design and journalism, computer science and marketing. It is difficult to believe the high quality of the level of service offered to students despite the colleges operating in what are essentially second-level structures. In all, there are a staggering 1,000 courses provided nationally in 60 different disciplines.

It is worth analysing exactly who attends. There remains a misconception in some quarters that PLC colleges are a sector for disadvantaged students. This is both patronising and untrue. PLC colleges are first choice for a large cohort of students due to the high quality and highly specified nature of the courses.

Figures show that 18 per cent of school leavers choose PLC colleges, compared with 43 per cent of school leavers who choose universities or institutes of technology. The sector also provides the most second-chance education opportunities to those who would otherwise be let down by the education system, with half the student population over 20 years of age and more than one fifth over 30 years of age.

Given the success to date, how much better would the situation be if the sector was properly resourced and provided for?

The system has now reached a plateau, having advanced as far as it can under the ad hoc basis which it had developed. If there is not now a plan, a structure and adequate funding, the system will stagnate and will not develop. Fortunately, there is a plan.

A report with the cumbersome title Report of the Steering Group to the PLC Review Established by the Department of Education and Science was prepared by McIver Consultants on foot of a commitment by the Department of Education and Science in the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF). Published in 2003, the McIver Report outlines a blueprint for the future of the sector. The Department has agreed in principle to the implementation of the report.

Indications were that last December's Budget would finally make serious provision for the sector in Ireland. We were initially stunned and then angered by the complete absence of provision for implementation of the report with the third anniversary of its publication fast approaching.

We are not arguing for better teacher salaries or conditions of service. We are demanding proper resources and appropriate structures that would directly and dramatically enhance the service to students for a sector which was recently described by Progressive Democrats TD Liz O'Donnell as "the Cinderella of the education system".

We are concerned by the continuing inexplicable failure to implement the findings of the report. Costings have been agreed at €48 million per annum, a drop in the ocean of our current Budget surplus and a minuscule amount in terms of the resulting rewards and positive outcomes. At present, this amount is well short of 1 per cent of the current education budget.

The uniqueness of the further education area should be formally recognised by the Minister for Education. Ireland remains an anomaly among its OECD peers by not having a distinct, formally recognised FE structure. The rights of students to an educational service of the same quality as those in the institutes and universities should be explicitly affirmed. Specifically, libraries, study areas, social areas, canteens and student unions with sabbatical officers should be provided.

Managerial, administrative and other specialist staff need to be deployed in PLC colleges to provide the structures typical in all modern international further education sectors. For example, at present it is not unusual for a college with 300 computers to have no official dedicated technician, relying instead on the goodwill of existing staff, many of whom freely contribute their time after their teaching day ends. It is difficult to imagine such a situation arising in the university sector.

A long-term programme aimed at increasing the amount of floor space per student in FE colleges from 5 square metres to 10 square metres should be begun.

The Council of FE Colleges, an integrated umbrella body for the sector, is urgently required to provide the leadership mechanism within the sector and co-ordinate initiatives between colleges. This is a key recommendation of the McIver Report.

In addition to the current services provided on the many courses, the PLC sector can also play a vital role in the upskilling of those already in the workforce. Lifelong learning has been identified as key to the much talked about knowledge economy. Meanwhile, the PLC sector has a proven track record in evolving and adapting to meet the commercial and industrial needs of the locality. The correlation between these two facts is undeniable and should be exploited as a matter of public policy.

Successive ministers for education have spun the same rhetoric about tackling disadvantage, ending inequalities in our education system and ensuring a level playing field for all. Strange then, that the Department has ignored the recommendations of an objective report it commissioned on a sector that provides, along with a high quality first-choice education option, more second-chance education opportunities than all the others put together.

TUI members have vigorously lobbied their local TDs and hundreds of our members and their students in the FE sector protested outside the Dáil on Budget Day. This will continue to intensify.

The blueprint has been long published, the implementation has been agreed in principle and the Government continues to enjoy unprecedented economic health. At the very least, Minister Hanafin should outline a timeline for implementation of the recommendations. It is the very least the 30,000 students in the sector deserve.

We do not want to hear any more excuses. We do not want any more broken promises or spin. We want the McIver Report implemented as a matter of urgency.