Teachers hope the Government's new law will make it easier to deal with unruly pupils, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor
The Government's decision to amend Section 29 of the Education Act comes after a period in which concern about school discipline has pushed its way to the top of the education agenda.
For several years, both the ASTI and the TUI have warned about a growing crisis in school discipline. Both claim that Section 29 - which allows an appeal against expulsion or suspension - has worked to protect unruly pupils. In its submission to the Government's Task Force on Student Behaviour, the ASTI highlighted the practical difficulties facing schools as teachers, school managers and pupils as they wrestled with the problem of a violent and disruptive pupil.
ASTI said current legislation focused largely on the needs of students as individuals and not on students as members of a learning community. "The ASTI believes that the legislation, by according wide-ranging entitlements to individuals, undermines the collective entitlement of the student community to a safe, orderly and harmonious learning environment.
"ASTI recommends that the legislation be reviewed to promote such a balance and to acknowledge, in law, the collective rights of the student community to an education in school which is not persistently disrupted by a small minority."
In the event, the report of the task force, chaired by Dr Maeve Martin of NUI Maynooth, supported the ASTI view.
While stressing the need for a holistic approach to the wider issue of indiscipline, it also made clear that Section 29, as currently framed, often worked contrary to the interest of the school community.
On one level, the statistics published with this article would seem to suggest that Section 29 is tilted in favour of the schools. In recent years, most appeals against expulsion have been unsuccessful.
But the teacher unions say these figures mask the real problem - where the hard core of very disruptive students managed to appeal successfully against expulsion.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin says Section 29 is now working much better from the school perspective as school managers become more adept at using the legislation. She hopes the new amending legislation will provide further protection for the school community.
So how bad is the discipline problem in schools? A landmark survey of more than 1,000 teachers conducted by the TUI earlier this year points to a disturbing level of violence, bullying and intimidation.
It main findings included:
• One in five teachers was threatened or intimidated by students and most had their classes seriously disrupted during one week in Irish schools last month.
• Some 21 per cent of teachers witnessed physical violence by students on another pupil.
• Some 50 per cent of teachers reported bullying by students of classmates.
• 63 per cent of teachers were at the receiving end of "unacceptable impertinence and defiance" by students.