There has never been a perfect time for any Government to heavily invest in any specific area. Few departments, if singled out, have a transformative ability to positively change our society and our economy at the same time. Education is unique, it has an enormous impact on our society.
We cannot afford to continue to underfund our schools and universities, while at the same time lacking any sincere vision and ambition for them.
There is a real distance between the rhetoric and expectations for education and the financial investment it receives. For example, primary schools receive less than one euro per pupil per school day by way of a capitation grant. Is this enough to build a world class system where all our citizens are catered for and can achieve their potential?
Golden opportunity
The next Government has a golden opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of generations to come by creating a fairer, more equal, more diverse and more internationally competitive education system.
Our budget is in surplus, our finances are stable and there is a degree of stability surrounding Brexit and the political situation in the Northern Ireland.
If not now, when?
We all benefit from an engaged student community, that nurtures and realises the potential of all. Full participation in education can be achieved but it absolutely cannot be done on the cheap.
Schools should have appropriate access to occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioural therapists and psychologists. At present, these services are woefully inadequate and under resourced. A robust recruitment of these essential professionals is long overdue.
Why are we still talking about class sizes? Our teachers confront the realities of modern Ireland, and all its shortcomings. Yet again this week, more and more schools document the increasing number of pupils who don’t have a home. Responding to an ever increasing and diverse range of student needs, we must get serious about capping class sizes at the EU average of 20 pupils.
This is a sensible first step that helps students to learn, teachers to teach and societies to thrive. Surely a reduction of one pupil per class per year for the next five years is not too much to ask for?
Urgency
In our most disadvantaged schools class sizes have not been reduced in twenty years. As a matter of urgency, the Department of Education must increase the number of schools in the Deis scheme and simultaneously reduce the class sizes within it.
Schools cannot fix all of society’s ills, but they are a central piece of the jigsaw. They deserve adequate resources and staffing to help tackle such complex societal issues as homelessness, drug dependency, generations of unemployment and the ever-increasing lure of criminal gangs.
Schools are poorly resourced when it comes to supporting pupils who are homeless. It gave me no pleasure at all to have to launch a guide for schools on the very issue with Focus Ireland, in the absence of governmental guidance.
International evidence proves that well educated, well-motivated and valued staff are key to a dynamic, positive and effective school. We are very fortunate on this island that teaching still attracts graduates from the top academic quartile.
However, there are worrying signs that retention is becoming a real issue. Stress, ever increasing paperwork, unequal pay and the housing crisis all contribute to this problem. Our school leaders are struggling.
In Britain, 50 per cent of teachers leave the profession after 10 years. Educators here have been warning policy makers for decades about the dangers of making the same mistakes as our British counterparts.
Quality
Yet, spend five minutes with any teacher and they will explain to you that their role has drastically evolved, with the result that they are spending less quality time teaching their pupils.
Ireland is thankfully becoming more diverse. Our classrooms are obviously mirroring these changes. To maintain our high standards and to truly educate all our pupils, regardless of academic ability, physical ability, economic standing and cultural differences, we have to stop kidding ourselves that we can continue with the absurdly low levels of funding provided.
This election ask those seeking your vote what they will do to balance the scales for primary education.
Feargal Brougham is president of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation
