Budget cuts ‘will destroy’ further education courses

Future careers in dance and music could be under threat from budget cuts of hundreds of teaching posts on further education courses.

This was the message to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn as protestors vented their anger over the move at the gates of the Dáil last night.

As many as 400 part- time teachers could lose their jobs on the post- Leaving Certificate (PLC) and other programmes, as he seeks to save €12m a year by raising the pupil- teacher ratio (PTR) from 17:1 to 19:1 and axing the whole-time equivalent of 200 teaching posts.