Non-Exam pupils at a Co Donegal school were told to remain at home yesterday on the first day of the ASTI ban on supervision and substitution.The majority of pupils at Pobal Scoil na Rosann in Dungloe did not go to school as the authorities were unable to recruit enough supervisors in time. Interviews will take place today and it could be days before all pupils will be accepted back. However, classes are continuing for exam students.
Otherwise, schools in the north- west reported a relatively smooth transition to the new system. A number of principals, though, said they were dissatisfied with the arrangement, that they would prefer to see teachers being paid to do the supervision.
The principal of Loreto Convent Secondary School in Letterkenny, Sister Siobhan Ní Chuill, said a number of non-teachers had already been working in the school and two new supervisors were taken on. "We had no difficulties whatsoever but I regret it has come to this. Our teachers deserve so much better." It was "a gross injustice" that non-teachers were now getting paid €34 an hour to do work "committed and loyal teachers" had been doing for free over many years, she said.
The principal of Carndonagh Community School, Mr Paul Fiorentini, said there was no disruption yesterday because up to 500 pupils out of 1,300 were not on the premises either due to mock exams or work experience. Seven new supervisors were on duty yesterday, but it was difficult to say how things would evolve. He also emphasised that staff had been very good in operating a voluntary supervision roster in the past.
THE MID-WEST
Second-level schools in the mid-west suffered little or no disruption yesterday, writes Gordon Deegan.
A spokeswoman for Co Limerick's Vocational Education Committee said last night there was no disruption at its six schools where supervision was withdrawn.
"The principals report no disruption and the contingency plans seem to have worked. The hard work carried out in recent weeks seems to have paid off and we are hopeful that there will not be any disruption in the days ahead."
Elsewhere, the dispute appeared to have minimal impact. A spokesman for St Munchin's College at Corbally in Limerick said the college operated as normal, while at the 900-student-strong St Flannan's College in Ennis there were no reports of disruption.
A teacher and ASTI member at St Patrick's Comprehensive School in Shannon said his union had argued their case very badly. "There are varying levels of dis-satisfaction within the union at the way the issue has been handled.
"Allowing people from the outside to do a job in the schools completely undermines the credibility of the action and makes a nonsense of the dispute. Bizarrely, we are depending on the dispute not being disruptive, but it is early days."
THE SOUTH
In the south, schools reported an uneventful day, despite some "cold shouldering" of the new supervisory staff by established teachers, writes Dick Hogan.
Throughout the region, principals said that despite the new situation, classes were held as normal and the day passed without incident.
One principal, who asked not to be named, said his understanding was that the ASTI had agreed to the introduction of supervisors and wanted the schools to remain open. In his own school, and from talking to other principals, he had become aware, however, that there had been cold shouldering by some teachers "which amounts in my view to a form of bullying".
"Of course, in a different situation like this, you are going to have tensions, it's inevitable, but bar a few incidents in a few schools, the day went fine and it was business as usual."
THE SOUTH-EAST
A commonsense approach by teachers and newly hired supervisors ensured schools in the south-east functioned without disruption, according to school principals in the region, writes Chris Dooley.
Gorey Community School in Wexford, one of the largest in the State, had 10 supervisors on site for lunchtime and other breaks, and the day went off "without a hitch", according to the principal, Mr Nicholas Sweetman.
It was evident, he said, that teachers would prefer to be doing the supervising themselves, but they were logical people who recognised reality. "There is an understanding that if the schools are to remain open, then supervisors must be employed."
Unlike many other schools, teachers continued to provide classroom supervision in Gorey, as a system of pay for supervision had always been in place, said Mr Sweetman. While the situation had to be dealt with day to day, he did not foresee any disruption or difficulty. "It took a lot of work to get it organised but everybody has been very sensible."
The president of St Kieran's College in Kilkenny, Msgr Jim Cassin, however, warned of potential problems ahead. "Who knows what's going to happen in the future, or whether this system is going to go on? It looks like it will go on until the end of this school year."
School trips could be affected, during which pupils are cared for voluntarily by teachers in many ways, he told Radio Kilkenny. "If that were to be hit and be taken away that would make a big difference."
Msgr Cassin said there had been two supervisors on duty at St Kieran's yesterday morning. No teachers were absent and everything was running "as a normal school day".
THE WEST
Non-teaching supervisors received a frosty reception from staff members when they turned up at some schools in Galway city and county yesterday, but there was minimal disruption, writes Ciaran Tierney.
The new recruits generally steered clear of staff-rooms and some schools run by religious orders deployed clerical members of staff instead of taking on the supervisors.
However, a senior member of the ASTI in Galway said its members were angry that the non-teaching supervisors were earning more than fully qualified part-time teachers, €9 an hour more.
Ms Sarah Witherall, secretary of the Galway Branch of the union, said the support among ordinary teachers for the industrial action was not being reflected in the media. "The part-time teachers are very annoyed to see people with no qualifications earning more than them."
She believed the dispute would intensify over the coming weeks when teachers withdrew substitution where colleagues were absent from school. There were no absentees in her school yesterday.
The regional representative of the ASTI, Mr George Moran, said that four priests took up the supervisory roles at St Jarlath's College, Tuam. No extra staff were recruited yesterday.
A secondary school teacher in Galway city, who did not wish to be named, said there was a great deal of distaste among staff members when they saw the four supervisory staff members on the premises of his city school.
"Even people like myself, who would be very unhappy with the direction the ASTI has taken, would still be very, very uncomfortable to see these people coming in to do the work that teachers would have done."