RELATIONS between parents and teachers have deteriorated further. A leading parents' spokesman claimed at the weekend that some in the profession had no "ability or expertise" and should not be allowed into any classroom.
Mr Pat Herlihy, who contends he was assaulted at the ASTI annual conference in Galway in April, said: "There are teachers who do not measure up to the required standards. They have neither the interest, ability or expertise. They most certainly do not deserve £40,000 a year".
He was speaking as president at the annual conference of the Parents' Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (PACCS) in Dublin. He is also a leading member of the National Parents' Council (Post-Primary).
Mr Herlihy said most teachers were professionals doing an excellent job, but others should not be allowed into a classroom.
The secondary teachers' dispute had highlighted the fact that parents were not equal partners in the education process, even though the Constitution, and the 1998 Education Act, stated that parents were the primary educators of children.
He said his organisation recognised the need for an "adequately remunerated, well-motivated and focused teaching body". He added: "We further realise that if we want quality teachers we must pay them accordingly, because if you pay peanuts you'll get monkeys." He said the ASTI dispute was not yet resolved. "It threatens to spill over into another school year. Indeed, many here today will be worried about the plight of our present fifth and second years," he said.
PACCS had refused to take sides in the dispute. "We hold Minister Woods and the ASTI to be equally guilty of intransigence and unco-operative behaviour. Disputes are settled through mutual respect and constructive dialogue.
"Once again I urge both parties to come together, negotiate and use all possible channels to resolve this dispute permanently, before it runs into another school year," Mr Herlihy said.