The Teachers Union of Ireland says it has learned of additional education cutbacks that will affect up to 50,000 children.
At a meeting with Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe yesterday, the union claims it was told that special programmes such as Post Leaving Cert courses and the Leaving Cert Applied Programme will also lose teachers next year.
The TUI says it is furious that this cutback was not revealed prior to that meeting.
Courses in these areas currently operate with a pupil teacher ratio of 16 to 1. However, the union says that this is now to be increased to 17 to 1.
It says there was no mention of this alteration in briefing documents published by the Department of Education on Budget day.
The TUI says the move will have a hugely detrimental effect of the diversity of courses offered to further education students and will undo years of progress in the sector.
It says while successive ministers have spun rhetoric about tackling disadvantage it is these courses that are giving a second chance to many people who have already been let down by the education system.
