20,000 people protest against education cuts
- Published: 24 November 2008
Source : Irish Examiner
20,000 people protest against education cuts
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent
THE insistence of parents and teachers that the education budget cutbacks must be reversed was as strong in Cork at the weekend as it was when thousands protested outside the Dáil almost a month ago.
Despite Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe's repeated statements that he does not have the funding to avoid reducing teacher numbers and withdrawing numerous grants, around 20,000 people from around Munster took part in Saturday's protest organised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO).
Marian Coveney was there with her son, Adam, who is in third class at Cahir Boys' National School in Co Tipperary, along with 31 other pupils. "It's my son's education at the end of the day that's being affected, Batt O'Keeffe would want to come into the school and see what we're talking about instead of saying it won't do any harm having bigger class sizes," she said.
Sheila Harrington, principal of Eyeries National School in west Cork's Beara peninsula, said the biggest effect for them will be the withdrawal of substitute cover for uncertified sick leave in January.
"There are four teachers but, if one of us is sick, their pupils just won't be educated that day. I'll just have to divide up that class among the other teachers, that's hardly satisfactory."
After the crowd took about an hour to march the circuit around the city centre to the Grand Parade, INTO president Declan Kelleher issued a message to Mr O'Keeffe that teachers are not scaremongering about the effects of the cutbacks: "The education of the children here today will be damaged if these cuts go ahead. The wrong choices have been made, children have been attacked and the rich have been let off in terms of making their contribution to the education system."
Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland president Pat Hurley told the crowd there would be chaos in January when substitute cover is to be withdrawn for teachers on uncertified sick leave or absent on school business.
"They say if something isn't broken why fix it, but if something isn't broken, don't try breaking it. These cuts attack effective programmes such as transition year, they attack the holistic education we give young people and they attack our efforts to create inclusive schools," he said.
Teachers' Union of Ireland president Don Ryan said the most unsavoury aspect of the budget fiasco is that students from poorer families, Travellers and minority ethnic students have been singled out for "particularly brutal treatment" which will irreparably damage their prospects.
The protest was the third organised by the INTO in the past month and will be followed by another in Donegal next weekend and a national rally in Dublin on December 6.
