THE demands placed on second-level teachers arising from changing social and economic circumstances would become insupportable unless steps were taken to reduce class sizes and provide schools with adequate staffing levels, the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) said yesterday.
ASTI said that reforms in the education system, such as plans to ensure a 90 per cent completion rate at second level and a move to raise the minimum school-leaving age from 15 to 16, would mean that demand for second-level teachers would rise in the coming years.
This is the main thrust of a submission sent by ASTI to the Higher Education Authority on teacher supply for second-level schools.
The general secretary of ASTI, Mr Charlie Lennon, said the demand for teachers was set to increase significantly as a result of the introduction of new subjects at Junior level such as civic, social and political education and the new Junior Certificate Elementary programme, while at senior level demand was increasing for Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied and Vocational programmes, in addition to new subject options.
The submission says that the Government's policy target, as stated in the White Paper on Education, is that by the end of the decade at least 90 per cent of the 16 to 18-year-old age-group would complete senior-cycle education. According to the Department's own projections, the numbers enrolled in senior-cycle education would undergo a steady increase up to the middle of the next decade.
"The projected sustained increase in student numbers is attributed to the increased retention rate and also as a result of participation in the Transition Year. Therefore it is misleading to suggest that the demographic decline will lead to a decreased demand for teachers.
"All the evidence underlines that more and more young people will remain in the school system in the coming years. Thus, even with a recruitment ratio of 19:1, the system will require an additional 105 teachers by the year 2005."
It points out that at present 12,760 permanent and temporary whole-time teachers are on full hours in secondary schools on the basis of 19:1 recruitment ratio. There were also an additional 335 teachers job-sharing, leading to a total of 13,627 full-time posts in the secondary sector. "To reduce the current recruitment ratio from 19:1 to 17:1 in secondary schools today would require an additional 1,200 teachers."