ASTI president Mr Michael Corley criticised what he called a serious lack of commitment to investment in second-level education.
In his address to the association's annual convention, which got under way in Killarney yesterday, Mr Corley also said there had been a minimal, piecemeal change in education. He issued a stern warning to the Minister for Education and Science that in future pay negotiations, teachers would put value on their work.
The recent ESRI report, which prioritised investment over the period 2000-2006, made "dismal reading", the ASTI president asserted.
The ESRI prioritised investment in roads, yet it was widely held that investment in education gave a greater return than any physical investment.
"The proposals announced in this year's Budget concerning second-level education - while welcome - are totally inadequate," Mr Corley declared. A significant change in the appointment ratio to allow for a pupil-teacher ratio of 15:1 was essential.
Ex-quota guidance counsellors, deputy principals, remedial and home-school liaison teachers were needed. A pupil teacher ratio of 15:1 was enjoyed by schools in the early 1970s - long before the advent of the Celtic Tiger and before we joined the EU.
"The possibilities are endless - not just in relation to class size but in extending options for students - particularly in the areas of art, music and physical education, areas that suffered most during the cutbacks of the 1980s." While the number of students in second-level education had tripled, Mr Corley said the expenditure per student remained among the lowest in the EU. The fact that the quality of our education had remained consistently high was largely due to the "human resource factor".
It was important that the remuneration of teachers was sufficient to attract the brightest and the best.
Meanwhile, huge demands had been placed on teachers in recent years, including larger class sizes, a changed pupil profile and widespread curriculum changes. Social problems, among them drug abuse, marital breakdown and urban decay also manifested themselves at school level.
In addition, the demands of the Education Act would impose further burdens, the ASTI president predicted. "If productivity bargaining is to be a feature of wage agreements - we will insist that such increased productivity given by our members will be rewarded."