Principals, teachers, CEOs, parents and members of VECs around the country report "a crisis in education," according to Brendan Griffin, president of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA). VEC schools cannot continue to provide the present level of education services, he says, because of loss of teaching hours.

Speaking at the association's annual congress in Galway last week, he said the loss of four teaching hours per week due to the creation of new management posts in schools amounted to "a severe cutback" in teaching time in many VEC schools.

Griffin called on the Minister for Education and Science to restore the loss of teaching hours to schools "before this issue inflicts serious damage on our schools and colleges". The IVEA, the representative management body for the country's 33 VECs, has "campaigned continuously" on the issue, he said.

"The worst impact of the lost hours will be felt in September when the new timetables are in place," he warned.

"While we have welcomed the new management structure there is no justification for the establishment of these structures on the backs of the pupils in our schools." The cutbacks are due to the creation of additional assistant principal posts in vocational schools. There has been no extra staffing to make up for the loss of those teaching hours which are now given over to administrative and other duties.

"The inclusion of extra posts for other very necessary reasons do not restore the teaching hours lost in classrooms. Many of us here present are painfuly aware of the difficulties in our schools."

A survey undertaken by the IVEA during April was launched at the start of the congress on Monday. It shows that 77 per cent of VECs who responded believe that subject options will be seriously eroded. A further 66 per cent said that the cutbacks will have a serious adverse effect on class size.

A spokesman for the Department told E&L last week that "there was never an agreement reached (in the PCW) that additional staff would be provided. There was no way we could respond to blanket provision of teachers."

Difficulties including curricular difficulties arising from the loss of class contact hours were taken into account by the Department in its consideration of appeals from individual VECs for an increase in the approved teacher allocation for the current school year, he said.