A chara, - The current pay dispute between the ASTI and the Government has gone far enough. I am a secondary teacher with 26 years' experience and am also the parent of two children sitting their Leaving Certificate this year.
I have worked hard as a teacher of Irish to foster a love of our native language in my students and to educate them in the broadest sense of the word. I have welcomed changes and improvements in education over the years, but the change I welcomed most was the encouragement of parents to be partners in education.
The current dispute has shattered this partnership and has destroyed the relationship that has been built up with parents at parent-teacher meetings, fundraising events, social functions and sports fixtures in schools.
What are this Government and the Minister for Education trying to do? Is it their intention to undermine the teaching profession in Ireland by advertising for parents to do our job in the administration of the exams? Who will be approached to correct the papers? People with no teaching experience? How will the Minister cope with the legal challenges that will surely ensue if parents and students are dissatisfied with the standard of correcting?
The Department of Education is setting a dangerous precedent in this dispute. Next time the nurses, gardai or airline pilots go on strike, will advertisements be placed in newspapers for unqualified people to fill these responsible positions?
The Minister is playing a dangerous game with the minds and emotions of our vulnerable students. We, as teachers, are very concerned about this but obviously the Labour Court is not. Why did it wait so long to issue a recommendation that was rejected by the ASTI last year?
As a parent and a teacher I demand that the Taoiseach becomes personally involved in this dispute to ensure that (a) the oral and practical exams take place; (b) the exams are supervised by qualified and experienced teachers; and (c) the papers are properly corrected.
If Mr Ahern is concerned about the young people of Ireland and the future of the education system, it is the least he can do. - Yours, etc.,
Marion Healy, Farmleigh Close, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.