‘Schools’ ability to field teams hit due to cutbacks’

Education cutbacks have severely affected secondary schools’ ability to field sports teams with other extra-curricular activities also being adversely affected, teachers’ unions have said.

The warning follows a MillwardBrown Lansdowne survey titled, Impact of Austerity Measures on Second Level Schools, conducted on behalf of teachers’ union ASTI, which shows that 48% of schools surveyed intend to curb extra-curricular activities on the resumption of the school year in September, with sports expected to be hit the hardest.

The findings mirror ASTI’s 2010 survey, which found that in 75% of schools questioned, extra-curricular activities had been affected either directly or indirectly through Department of Education budget cuts.