TUI may look further afield after Dempsey snub
Mr Dempsey has refused to attend the TUI conference despite the union’s call for a debate on the Minister’s plan to publish school league tables.
TUI general secretary Jim Dorney said a league table of exam results would lead to schools becoming “education factories”.
“Schools would be forced into a solely academic mode to the detriment of their wider social responsibilities,” he said. “This is a matter that could have been discussed with TUI and the other teacher conferences in April, but the minister has declined our invitation to speak at the event.”
Parents will soon be able to choose the best schools for their children after Mr Dempsey cleared the way for the publication of league tables.
Mr Dempsey said last week the ban on the publication of information allowing parents compare schools based on exam results was “an extreme measure”.
But the move has angered the TUI and a union executive meeting on Friday proposed inviting education spokespeople from opposition parties to next month’s conference.
The union said it will make a final decision on the proposal in the coming weeks.
The teacher unions, including the TUI, the INTO and the ASTI are furious at the minister’s refusal to deliver the traditional ministerial address at their conferences.
The minister wanted the unions, which represent 40,000 teachers, to replace the ministerial address with a forum on the future of education.
Only the INTO has said it’s willing to consider the minister’s demand.
Mr Dempsey said the current format places the emphasis on “confrontation” rather than “real communication”.
Mr Dempsey wants to replace the traditional speech with a forum based on 17 public meetings on education which are currently taking place across the country.
