Three hundred secondary students walked out of a Co Tipperary secondary school yesterday in protest against the effect the continuing ASTI dispute was having on their studies.
Walking out of the 750-pupil Colaiste Dun Iascaigh in Cahir, they said they were determined to continue their protest until there was negotiation between the ASTI and the Department of Education.
The protest was organised mainly by transition-year students. One of them, Lorna English, said it was a direct reaction to the teachers' strikes and the effect they were having on exam classes. "We are protesting to get the point across. Exam classes are at a disadvantage. It is very unfair on sixth year students and it could wreck their future," said Ms English.
Parents are now planning to organise a mass demonstration involving themselves and pupils from throughout the county.
"The Government will have to wake up and realise that this is a national issue," said Mr Jim O'Leary, chairman of the school's parents association. "We will be proposing to them [the protesting students] that a mass protest will be organised in South Tipperary with parents and students," he added.
The parents' promise of a mass protest was in exchange for the students' immediate return to school because parents were worried about their safety. "We are a little worried that there are 300 students standing outside the school but I think everyone is entitled to protest, no one will disagree with their protesting," Mr O'Leary said.
The school principal, Ms Mary Finnegan Burke, confirmed that students had left the school during their morning break and she "informed the gardai because safety is a first priority". She had drawn up a list of the students who were absent to inform their parents that their children were not in school. However she declined to comment on whether disciplinary action would be taken.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed that they had visited the protest. "We have spoken to the people involved in the protest. They are running a peaceful protest and are not interfering with the running of traffic. They have the right to a peaceful and orderly demonstration."
Meanwhile, the Institute of Guidance Counsellors has said a mediator should be appointed the solve the five-month long ASTI dispute. It said another possible solution would be for the Labour Court to re-examine the dispute and issue a fresh recommendation. "If this situation were to continue, relations between the parties would be likely to deteriorate further," said the institute's president, Ms Roisin Kelleher