‘Classroom violence rise direct result of cutbacks’

TEACHERS are witnessing a sharp rise in violence, threats and serious assaults on school grounds against both them and their pupils as a direct result of vital support services being slashed.

And the Teachers Union of Ireland has warned the cuts imposed by a succession of education ministers has meant they are unable to guarantee discipline in their class rooms.

A 2006 survey of 1,200 TUI members found one-in-five teachers had been “threatened or intimidated” by students in a single week, that three-in-four had seen their classes “seriously disrupted”, that one-in-five were unable to prevent physical violence between students, and that one-in-two teachers in disadvantaged areas were regularly subjected to verbal abuse.

However, despite the problems being apparent for four years, TUI assistant secretary general, Declan Glynn, said little action had been taken.

And describing the situation as the hidden impact of the staff recruitment freeze, resulting larger class sizes, and Government-imposed ceilings on the number of English language support teachers, the union official warned teachers are facing serious discipline issues they can no longer control.

“Commonly disruption of class involved shouting out, but there has also been a very alarming rise in physical threats and assaults, both on pupils and teachers.

“We’ve had a very significant problem for some time, but it’s undoubtedly a worsening problem because services to address it are being taken away.

“We’re satisfied from what our members have reported that the situation has deteriorated remarkably. But there is an absence of ongoing data on this and, arguably, it is high time for a real assessment of this to take place.

“The inability of schools to address the problem is a direct consequence of the non-filling of teacher posts, and in particular assistant principal and support posts.

“Those positions are the backbone of a school and without them the school is effectively a blancmange, ” he added.

A TUI spokesperson said the union was aware of a number of violent incidents in recent weeks, including one incident where a teacher witnessed a student prodding another member of her class with “something that looked like a pen knife”.

“When she confronted the student, the student put something in her bag and denied she had anything. When the teacher made the student empty her bag she spotted the knife and took it. The student’s parents then came in complaining about the student’s privacy being invaded,” the spokesperson explained.

Rates of absenteeism and truancy – where a student has absconded for part of the day – have also risen in tandem with the cutbacks, the spokesperson said, as “teachers are not free in the afternoons to check on attendances and as a more serious consequence have no time to follow up on official absences as this would normally be a year head’s job”.

After the TUI raised similar concerns in 2006, the Department of Education introduced the Behavioural Support Service system, which is staffed by a 20-strong team and supplies support to 33 schools across the country.

However, Mr Glynn noted this figure represents a “percentage hit rate of just 4%”, which he said was “inadequate by any definition”.