Many secondary school students are losing an average of 40 hours' teaching time every year because their teachers are increasingly involved in non-teaching duties, according to a report prepared by school principals.
The report warns that the loss of teaching time could damage students' prospects in the Junior and Leaving Certificates and undermine efforts by teachers to complete the curriculum in the time available.
It also expresses concern about the increase in unsupervised classes when teachers are diverted to other duties and no substitute teacher is available.
The survey of over 300 secondary schools by the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) highlights how teachers are increasingly working outside the classroom.
Almost three-quarters of secondary schools release teachers for oral exams in language subjects in March/April.
Over 90 per cent of schools release teachers for in-service training at Leaving Cert level.
Over 90 per cent of schools give over tuition time for parent/teacher meetings.
Altogether, more than 13,000 teaching hours were used per year for duties other than teacher/student contact. Among the 300-plus schools surveyed, an average of 40 hours' teaching time was lost.
Last night, Ms Mary McGlynn, director of the NAPD, said her organisation was seriously concerned about the loss of class contact time for students.
"Teachers are doing magnificent work in the provision of new programmes without adequate recognition or remuneration. But the pressure on students, teachers, principals and deputy principals caused by the ongoing erosion of teaching time is unsustainable," she said.
The NAPD survey highlights how tuition time for students is being eroded as teachers undergo training in a huge range of widely praised new programmes such as Civil, Social and Political Education (CSPE) and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE).
A total of 74 per cent of schools did not have suitable substitute cover available when teachers were doing in-service training, according to the report.
The NAPD survey is set to raise further concerns about the erosion of the school year, which at 167 days is already one of the shortest in Europe. In Northern Ireland and Britain, the school year averages about 190 days plus another five days for training, development and other needs.
The 1995 White Paper on Education, prepared by the rainbow coalition, did propose an increase in the State's school year to 179 days but this has not been reactivated by the Government. The NAPD has been seeking the establishment of a Department of Education review body to examine all aspects of the erosion of the school year.
The NAPD report warns that the practice whereby some language teachers leave their own schools every March/April to give oral exams in other schools may have serious consequences for the performance of individual students and on student performance.
It warns: "Considerable numbers of students do not have the support of their own teachers" in the latter stage of their preparations for the Leaving and Junior Certificate exams. It also highlights the difficulty facing principals in obtaining suitably qualified substitute teachers. Over 45 per cent of schools which released teachers for oral exams in Irish did not have a suitable substitute teacher available.
A Department of Education working party is considering how best to organise the oral and practical exams. The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland wants schools closed for a further week to allow these exams take place. This proposal has been strongly resisted by the Department, the NAPD and school management groups, all of whom are increasingly concerned at the erosion of the school year.
The NAPD survey was based on the response of 328 second-level schools to a standard questionnaire. The research was completed by Dr Valerie Richardson of the department of social policy and social work in UCD.