ASTI:MINISTER FOR Education Batt O'Keeffe told teachers' union the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) yesterday there could be "no sense of business as usual" in Irish education.In an address to the union's annual conference in Killarney, Mr O'Keeffe acknowledged that there was anger about the perceived unfairness of recent budgetary measures, but reminded delegates that the top 1 per cent of income earners in the country would contribute nearly one-quarter of all the money raised.
Despite angry criticism of the Minister in addresses and private talk of a walkout among delegates, only a small number left the auditorium for the Minister’s speech, with the remainder sitting in silence.Mr O’Keeffe, who travelled to Co Kerry after attending the INTO conference in Letterkenny earlier, listed a range of areas in education that the Government intended to spend on, such as the summer works scheme and energy conservation projects.
There was sparse applause for the Minister’s address in which he expressed the hope that he could work closely with the ASTI executive and said it was “worth trying for a common purpose in these difficult times”, despite recent criticism of national partnership agreements. He concluded by congratulating the ASTI on reaching its centenary year and acknowledged its contribution to Irish education.
Outgoing ASTI president Pat Hurley received an enthusiastic response for his comments about the “unfair and unjust pension levy” which he said penalised those who were not responsible for the crisis. He said that six months after the October budget “we are still trying to get our heads around the devastating impact that the education cuts are having on students, parents, teachers and schools”.
Mr Hurley outlined some of the most significant cutbacks of recent months including cuts in funding for Travellers, capitation funding under disadvantage initiatives, aid for school books and school libraries and a ceiling on language support teachers.
He received a standing ovation and got sustained applause for his closing remarks, calling on the Minister to reverse recent Budget decisions. “Minister, economies will sink or swim according to the quality of education . . . On behalf of pupils, parents and teachers you must persuade your Government to reverse the education cutbacks. Nothing else will do.”
Some delegates claimed school principals were hiding the effects of cuts from parents to avoid losing students to other schools.
Mayo delegate Greta Harrison claimed that, in areas where schools were competing for numbers, principals were “papering over the cracks” created by recent cuts. “Schools have gone into denial. They won’t give out numbers of teachers they will lose,” said Ms Harrison.