Government owes us €2m, say VEC principals

ALMOST €2 million is still owed to vocational school principals for running supervision and substitution schemes in their schools because of an inter-union row, a conference heard yesterday.

The 240 principals of vocational schools and community colleges run by local Vocational Education Committees (VECs) claim they are being discriminated against, as they have not been paid the bonus given to counterparts in other schools for operating their school supervision schemes.

The dispute stretches back almost four years, since the original agreement between the Department of Education and teacher unions on supervision and substitution. Each teacher who makes themselves available for 37 hours of these duties during the school year is now paid almost €1,700, or a rate of €45.60 per hour.

Under the same agreement, 5% of each school’s supervision budget is set aside for its administration, amounting to around €2,000 in a 400-student second-level school.

But whereas the money is paid direct to the school staff responsible in the community and comprehensive, religious-owned and primary sectors, local Vocational Educational Committees (VECs) receive the payment from the Department of Education in respect of the vocational schools and community colleges they run.

The payment is now the subject of an inter-union dispute between the Teachers’ Union of Ireland representing principals, and another union whose members are VEC administrative staff.

“A claim by the Impact trade union has resulted in this payment being withheld from schools in the VEC sector. We believe this claim is totally unwarranted and unacceptable,” said Martin Wallace, president of the Principals and Deputy Principals Association (PDA).

He was addressing the annual conference in Ennistymon, Co Clare, of the association.

“The work involved in organising and managing the scheme is the responsibility of the senior management team in the school, and it’s our contention that the 5% administrative fee should be paid in an equitable and transparent manner to the people who administer the scheme,” he said.

Mr Wallace also expressed regret at the mute support from the Irish Vocational Education Association, which represents the VECs.

He also expressed alarm at the lack of a significant investment in information and communications technology (ICT) in schools since 2000.

“ICT has a vital role to play in the modern learning process and yet we are only scratching the surface of its potential. Six years is a generation in terms of information technology developments and I hope that renewed investment will occur in the areas of technical support and capital funding in the immediate future,” he told delegates.