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Inishowen parents say No
05.12.08
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
HUNDREDS of Inishowen parents, pupils and teachers
braved the wintry conditions and made their way to
Donegal Town on Saturday to protest against the
education cutbacks proposed in the Budget. And it
seems their protest has resulted in a partial
reversal on the cuts yesterday by Education Minister
Batt O'Keeffe.
On Saturday, representatives from the three main
teaching unions, the INTO, TUI and ASTI, spelled out
what the cuts will mean for pupils in Donegal and
across the country. “There was great anger and
frustration about what’s happening in education,”
said Gerry McGeehan, Inishowen representative on the
INTO Central Executive Committee, of the protest.
Several buses ferried protestors from Inishowen to
Donegal Town where McGeehan estimated the attendance
was around 8,000. |
“We were very happy
with the turnout from Inishowen and people are now
realising that this is not about the teachers but
about pupils,” said Mickey Downey, chairman of the
Inishowen parents’ association committee. “I’ve seen
the progress that some of the special needs children
have made with the extra tuition that has been
available to them, and it saddens me to think that
will be reduced.”
Mr Downey said that parents |
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will now lobby their
local representatives with a view to reversing, or
at least curtailing, the cuts.
“Primary education has always been under-funded, and
to cut it now is unbelievable,” Gerry McGeehan, who
is also principal of Scoil Eoghain in Moville, said.
“Every country is facing tough economic choices, but
why is Ireland the only country in Europe to bring
in education cuts?”
“We appreciate that money is tight, but education
should have been shielded from it,” McGeehan said,
as he criticised the lack of consultation over the
cuts. “The INTO met with the Department before the
budget and there was no mention of cutbacks,
although they must have been out the back planning
them at the same time.”
“The Minister for Education will have to concede on
some of these cuts,” McGeehan said. “Some of them,
particularly the constraints on substitute cover,
are unworkable – especially in small schools.”
McGeehan also called on parents and teachers to
attend next weekend’s protest in Dublin. The INTO is
hoping for an attendance in excess of 60,000.
“People are right to be worried about these cuts and
what’s in store next year, and after Saturday’s
protest, they’re angrier and more motivated than
ever.” Meanwhile, Mr O'Keeffe has come to a
compromise with secondary teachers with a package
for substitute cover for absent teachers. |
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