The father of a Leaving Certificate student in Co Waterford has called for parents to come together to ensure that sixth-year students continue to receive classes during the teachers' dispute.
Mr Paddy Early, from Killea, Dunmore East, says he hopes to organise a meeting of parents in the area to put pressure on school managements to accept Leaving Cert students on days when teachers refuse to carry out voluntary supervision.
Mr Early, whose 18-year-old son is a student at Newtown School in Waterford, says there is no reason why Leaving Cert students cannot supervise themselves between classes. "They are young adults and many of them will be going to college, where there is no supervision, in a few months."
In a letter to Mr Charlie Lennon, general secretary of the ASTI, Mr Early criticises the union for allowing sixth-year pupils to be affected by the dispute. "You must be very aware of the pressures which sixth-year pupils are under in the points race . . . To threaten their future career opportunities is to my mind a despicable act of irresponsibility and cowardice," he wrote.
"It is quite clear that you as a union have marginalised yourselves by opting out of normal channels of industrial relations . . . How far will your extraordinary single-minded greed allow you to further jeopardise the future of young adults that you profess to care about?"
Mr Sean Hurley, the southeast representative on the ASTI's national executive, said it was understandable that parents would feel frustration and anger, but Mr Early's letter was an unfair attack on teachers when his target should be school boards of management and the Minister for Education.
"We're in an invidious position. We're in school on a daily basis and we're ready to continue with all our voluntary supervision work except in two specific areas." These were corridor and yard supervision, and standing in for colleagues who were absent.
He had "no problem" with Mr Early's suggestion that Leaving Cert students could supervise themselves, but this was a matter for school managements.
Mr Early also claimed that fee-paying schools should be obliged to provide an education to students, as they effectively had a contract with parents to do so.
Mr Hurley said most schools in Waterford and Wexford did not provide classes yesterday, although a number of students in one Waterford school did turn up and were taught.
There was severe disruption in secondary schools all over the midlands yesterday as teachers reported for work but did not carry out supervisory duties.
In Limerick, the ASTI said there were no reports of pupils turning up for classes in the midwest region.
An ASTI regional meeting will take place in the Limerick Ryan Hotel tomorrow night. "The threat by the Minister not to pay teachers for these days when we withdrew voluntary supervision will only serve to strengthen the resolve of teachers to continue industrial action", a union spokesman said.
