A teachers' union has warned that student drop-outs will reach crisis levels unless targeted investment is made in education now.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland says the number of students attending second level is set to increase dramatically in future years.
It says there is a real risk the drop-out rate will rise substantially unless programmes and supports for vulnerable children have funding restored.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland is holding a conference in Dublin later today on investing in education.
Its central focus is the impact of the recent cutbacks.
The Union says the revised Programme for Government which rowed back on some of those cuts was a step in the right direction but it says schools will be a lot worse off than they were a year ago.
The Union points out that second level student numbers are expected to grow by 30% over the next 20 years and says the drop-out rates will grow substantially too unless programmes geared towards children at risk are supported.
It says the Government needs to listen to employers, parents, economists and educators who say the country will pay later if it fails to invest in education now.
