The future of the Leaving Certificate Applied is under threat due to cutbacks in support services, the association representing co-ordinators of the course has said.
In a letter to the Department of Education, Ms Mary Farrell, secretary of the National Association of Leaving Certificate Applied Co-ordinators, said the course had made "an enormous difference to the lives and futures of thousands of students".
However, there had been a huge reduction in the level of support and in-service training for teachers on the course, she said, with the result that "it appears that there is no longer a dedicated support team for the Leaving Certificate Applied".
The LCA is a two-year alternative programme to the traditional Leaving Certificate course, and has succeeded in keeping at-risk students at school.
It offers subjects such as agriculture/horticulture, hotel catering and tourism, and childcare/community care. Last year 3,296 students in 325 schools sat the exam.
"The Leaving Certificate Applied is an excellent programme," said Ms Farrell. "While some support has been given in terms of material sent to schools and school visits, this in no way replaces the level of support that has been available.
"The members of the association are in no doubt that the future of the Leaving Cert Applied is now in serious danger. Teachers will not be prepared to teach the programme if they don't have sufficient in-service and support."
Most new teachers in schools offering the programme received either "skeleton" in-service training or none at all, she said. As the programme was quite complex, involving new courses with different contents to the Leaving Certificate, teachers and co-ordinators needed in-service training for it to operate successfully.
If the level of support services was not restored, there was "no doubt that many schools will then drop the programme altogether", Ms Farrell said.
"The students in the end will be the people who really suffer, and the success of keeping many students in school up to Leaving Cert will be reversed."
A Department of Education spokeswoman said the rate of schools coming onstream for the LCA programme had dropped. Given this reduction, the support structures had also been changed, with the result that this now came under the generality of second-level support services.
"Any new restructuring will have teething problems. However, we are looking at the matter and will respond to the concerns raised as soon as possible."