The Government should increase secondary school class sizes and introduce university fees to reduce public spending, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recommended.
In a report published today, the OECD argued for "better value-for-money in education spending" in what it described as an "over-expanded" public sector. It said Ireland could have reduced its education spending by 12 to 18 per cent in 2003 and still achieved the same outcomes.
A spokesman for Minister for Education and Science Batt O'Keeffe said the change is "not desirable, but may be necessary to secure national finances". He said he believed this was likely to influence the department's review of all aspects of expenditure.
"The Minister has always maintained, and numerous international studies have suggested, that the most important component in determining educational outcome is the quality of the teacher in front of the classroom, not the size of the class," the spokesman said.
However, he stressed that once the situation has improved, "class sizes will be restored and continue to be reduced".
The report noted student-teacher ratios in Ireland were among the lowest in the EU in 2006 and teacher salaries are well above the OECD average, at 75 per cent of current expenditure. This suggests secondary school class sizes could be raised without necessarily reducing the quality of education, the report argued.
It recommended further cutbacks through the introduction of tertiary education fees supported by a loans system. It is hoped that this would improve incentives and make the system fairer by making universities more responsive to students' needs and promoting access across all income groups.
The Government has signalled the likelihood of introducing these fees in 2010, the report claimed. However, a Government spokesman said while such plans were off the agenda due to current economic pressures on families, that this is likely to change in the future.
The OECD is a forum of 30 governments working together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation.