Now that the proposed industrial reaction by Gardaí has been averted, the spotlight once again turns to the dispute between Government and the Association of Secondary School Teachers of Ireland (ASTI).
These two disputes have dominated airwaves in recent weeks and, in relation to the educational dispute, we’ve heard from government politicians, opposition politicians, unions, teachers, parents, and a variety of educational commentators.
Today, it was the turn of a student. And in fairness, the students of Ireland could hardly have asked for a more articulate and passionate representative than Livelive caller and leaving cert student, Natasha, who is faced with an indefinite school closure from Monday.
“What are your plans?” asked Joe.
“Me and my family… We will follow the exact school day. Get up at nine, try to do my classes somehow without teachers. My parents can't help with some subjects. I’m doing two languages. Home-Ec is an extremely extensive course. Biology, which is extremely detailed. It’s really crazy.”
On top of that, Natasha is worried about her classmates whose schoolbooks are in lockers inside schools, and may not be able to physically access them.
This is a young woman who is clearly passionate about her education and is determined to get some answers for herself. However, she says, if her experience with the Department of Education is anything to go by, it’s not looking promising.
“I am trying to keep a stable mind. All of this morning, I was on the phone to the Department of Education. And can I just say, I was absolutely disgusted with the service that I got. I was hung up on, I was “put onto another line”. As in “lost the contact”. I was spoken over, maybe it’s because I’m not an adult.”
Natasha called the Dublin office, the Athlone office, the Tullamore office… All to no avail. Finally, she even got onto the Department of the Taoiseach. Still, no joy.
But does she, or her friends, have any plans beyond relying on parents and putting in the extra hours study? Well, some are reverting to private colleges. “It might be a great education”, says Natasha, “but they are very, very expensive.”
“Myself, I am looking at enrolling in online courses. It really makes me mad. The Department of Education, the Government, is supposed to supply this education. I shouldn’t have to pay for it. I would be in the right mind to ask the Government to reimburse me for the money I am spending, because I cannot get the education I deserve.”
Natasha received a letter today from her school, which she took the opportunity to read in full on air. Effectively, it said that the school will be closed from Monday as nobody was available for supervisory duties. And that, apart from the individual striking days, is the key problem in all of this.
From Monday, November 7th, ASTI members are due to stop performing substitution and supervisory duties, a situation which could lead to a complete shutdown of schools on the grounds of “health and safety issues”.
Like many schools, Natasha’s is looking to recruit supervisors. However, Joe calculated, that process could take six weeks for Garda vetting, followed by training, followed by an induction course. January 2017, Joe speculated, before schools could reopen under those circumstances.
To listen to the full call with Natasha and others on Liveline, listen here.
Photo Credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images