Artificial needs create artificial Greeds!

national | miscellaneous | press release Thursday November 18, 2004 21:03 by Rob Chapman - Union of Secondary Students robchapman at eircom dot net 086 3275100

Department of Eduaction and Science pay salaries of teachers, teaching in fee-paying schools - diverting much needed resources from state-supported schools.

Recently the T.U.I. have called upon the government to stop paying teachers salaries in fee-paying schools. This is a reasonable request. As this means that at the moment fee-paying schools do not have to cover their costs and in turn maximise profit, consequently diverting valuable funding from state supported schools. As a result of this there remains a situation in Ireland where a proper infrastructure for schools in general is far below a respectable level. This only adds to the huge sense of social injustice within the Irish educational system, and further widens the gap between the social “elite” and those who come from/attend less well off schools.

Presently the government must pay teachers working in fee-paying schools. Is this really necessary? We the U.S.S. feel that it certainly is not. It is simply unfair to those who do not attend fee-paying schools, as it gives those who are attending, a huge advantage over the rest of the population. This also creates a situation of ever increasing difficulty for those, who are trying to bridge the gap between themselves and those from fee-paying schools. What is needed is to take away this unfair head start from the minority of the population and take this step in trying to level the playing field, which is impossible when a few enjoy luxury at the cost of everyone else. It is up to you to show support for the T.U.I. and not let the Irish educational system be labelled as unfair indefinitely.

Robert Chapman