VEC chiefs reject plan to cut numbers

THE heads of the country’s Vocational Education Committees (VECs) have rejected the need to cut their numbers as proposed by the Government.

The number of VEC chief executives is expected to reduce from 33 to 16 to match the drop in committee numbers announced yesterday by Education Minister and Tánaiste Mary Coughlan. They earn salaries of up to €146,000 but it is unclear if these will continue to be paid to those who give up their jobs in VECs that merge with neighbouring committees.

The Chief Executive and Education Officers Association (CEEOA) said last night that it does not welcome the aggregation of VECs and emphasised that the staff required to meet any new Government objective must be provided to the sector. “This announcement has significant implications for the members of our association.

“The executive and union representatives will engage with the minister and her officials immediately to discuss the consequences of this decision for our members,” CEEOA president and Kildare VEC chief executive Sean Ashe said.

However, he welcomed the additional functionality proposed for VECs and said CEEOA members will engage constructively in talks to ensure effective and efficient delivery of quality education and other systems needed to support it.

The executive of the VECs’ umbrella body, the Irish Vocational Education Association, has yet to consider its response but general secretary Michael Moriarty said there was surprise at the level of cuts proposed.

Ms Coughlan said the amalgamations will ensure each of the 16 VECs will be of sufficient scale to support the evolution of local education service delivery and meet future challenges.

Most of the savings, which could reach €4.5 million a year, are expected to be achieved through reduced salary costs and disposal of VEC property.

Almost half the 33 VECs have five second-level schools or less and 20 have an overall budget of less than €30m. The smallest VEC under Ms Coughlan’s plan would have a budget of €39m, and all but three of them would have a budget of at least €50m a year.