By not putting adequate resources into English language teaching for foreign pupils we are storing up trouble for the future, writes Michael Moriarty, general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA)

Of all the current challenges facing schools and schooling in Ireland, the impact of resourcing the language needs of a substantially increased number of non-national students presenting with English language deficiencies is presently one of the most demanding.

Schools do not function in isolation from their societal context and this is true for the 246 VEC schools and colleges, as it is for all schools in the State. At present, many schools are facing the new challenge of coping with a multicultural, multi-ethnic school community. This challenge is profoundly different from all others due to the rapid growth of a multicultural society arising from considerable levels of sustained increases of immigration in the past five years.

The challenge of catering for the needs of a large influx of students, whose mother tongue is not English, must therefore be addressed in the context of the unique transformation of Irish society being experienced in recent times, one which is set to continue over the next decade.

Ireland has experienced a level of immigration in the last five years that has taken 40 to 50 years in other countries. Of the increase in population between 1996 and 2002, immigrants accounted for 30 per cent. According to NCB Stockbrokers' recent report, 2020 Vision, immigrants may account for 50 per cent of the growth in total population between now and 2020. In fact, NCB estimates that immigrants will account for 19 per cent of the Irish population in 2020, as compared with 7 per cent in 2002, amounting to approximately one million people.

Attracting and integrating immigrants will be an important aspect of labour market policy going forward. For the year to April 2005, total gross immigration levels reached a new peak of 70,000. The Central Statistics Office now estimates a need for 50,000 immigrants per annum to supplement domestic sources of labour supply.

These figures demonstrate the present transformation of Irish society, which is happening at a most rapid pace. The opening up of Irish society to other ethnic cultures and influences can only enhance and enrich our society, but the rate of change is unprecedented in a European context.

Many thousands of immigrants have moved to Ireland with their families to start their new lives and their support is essential to maintain the growth of the Irish economy in the years ahead.

Schools are not isolated from these changes, as many new immigrants have moved their families to Ireland - hence the significant increase in non-national children within our education system.

Managing this rapid change will present a challenge for both the State and the education sector. The rapid growth and development of a multicultural society highlights the need for a national strategy to promote and enhance social integration. In the absence of an evolving, nationally planned strategy involving Government departments and agencies such as the Reception and Integration Agency, Ireland could, in the future, face a ghettoisation of minority ethnic groups which would have obvious parallels with the problems being experienced in other countries and reflected in public disturbances in France and Australia in recent months.

English language proficiency is essential for non-nationals if we are to secure social coherence and integration of different cultures and ethnic groups in Ireland or if we are to prevent marginalisation or ghettoisation of ethnic minorities developing in Irish society in the years ahead. In this regard, we can and must learn from the experiences of other countries.

A key question for both the State and the education sector is how can our multicultural society integrate if communication is a real problem? Our schools tell us that there is a problem, in that a considerable number of non-national students are presenting with serious deficiencies in English, and some students present with no English at all. There are also difficulties in communicating with the parents of non-nationals and some VEC schools now issue school rules in Polish and Latvian as well as Irish and English.

English language proficiency is not only crucial for social integration but is also absolutely essential if non-national students are to comprehend the curriculum being taught in our schools. Basic functional English is not enough, when what is required is a comprehensive mastery of the language particularly in the undertaking of State examinations. Poor English language comprehension and linguistic skills will greatly disadvantage these pupils who may thereafter become demoralised and disaffected.

Currently, schools are not adequately resourced and supported to respond to the needs of these students. For example, in the past year the number of non-national students in two Dublin schools has increased from 20 to 102 and 21 to 83 respectively, while the numbers in a provincial second-level school have increased from 10 to 52 students. Some schools now have upwards of 120 non-national students with English language deficiencies.

Such rapid expansion has created significant resourcing problems. Currently schools with 14 non-nationals requiring this type of English language tuition are allocated one teaching unit, but a second teaching unit is not allocated until 28 such pupils are enrolled in the school. As there is no pro-rata allocation between 14 and 28 pupils, this one teaching unit resource has to be spread across all relevant students until the enrolment reaches 28. The total allocation to the school is then capped at two teaching units - even if the student numbers rise considerably higher, as is the case with the schools mentioned above. Obviously, this level of resources and the associated restrictions is untenable if schools are to respond adequately to the needs of these pupils.

If English language proficiency is regarded as crucial for social integration, then schools need a substantial enhancement of their teaching resources. It is no longer tenable that if the student has received two years' tuition at primary level then no further tuition is available at second level.

Thankfully, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has recognised that the allocation of language supports for two years is not sufficient for all children and that there is a need for support for the students' families. In recent Dáil debates the Minister has confirmed that two or even three teachers are not sufficient in some schools.

The Reception and Integration Agency has, with the support of the Department of Education and Science, arranged a seminar on May 12th to begin the process of developing a coherent integrated strategy to respond to the needs of non-nationals. This will hopefully provide a good opportunity for the IVEA, our member VECs and other service providers to share experiences and build closer links in the development of an integrated strategy to respond to the challenges of a multicultural society.

As always, however, the success or otherwise of any strategy will be determined by the levels of commitment and resources and the speed of implementation. Schools cannot wait indefinitely and such pupils cannot continue to suffer the handicap of being unable to follow the curriculum because their proficiency in English language is inadequate. After all, it is their life chances that are being affected.

Schools can play a key role in a social integration strategy for non-national students, if they are given the resources to do so. The recent IVEA publication of its policy on English language provision for migrant workers sets out the strategies in terms of structures, funding and training, which the IVEA believes is essential if we as a State canaddress these challenges. VECs have a broad range of provision across second level, adult and further education and their regional spread makes them an invaluable resource for the State to assist in the co-ordination and delivery of educational services to immigrants at local level.

I say this not to advertise VECs but to demonstrate their potential and continued role in life-long learning. This is demonstrated by Co Clare VEC, which has up to 40 different nationalities accessing their adult education services.

Multiculturalism and a multi-ethnic society are here to stay. Our success in dealing with the challenges presented by the cultural transformation of Irish society will determine, in no small measure, our capacity as a State to adapt successfully to rapid societal challenge.

If the school community, with its new multicultural and multi-ethnic dimensions, integrates and adapts to change then society at large will have every chance of doing likewise in the future. Surely this is the pivotal challenge for schools and the Department of Education and Science going forward. There is but one chance to get it right.

The IVEA annual conference begins in Bundoran, Co Donegal tomorrow