ULSTER TEACHERS’ UNION WELCOMES SCHOOLS’ BUDGET REPRIEVE

The Ulster Teachers’ Union has welcomed the news that schools’ budgets have been given a reprieve.
Avril Hall Callaghan, General Secretary of the UTU – the only locally based teaching union – said she hoped the announcement would save threatened jobs in the class room.

“We have worked tirelessly over the last months to stress to the Education Minister the dire ramifications of the cuts to the education budget. We are relieved that he seems to be listening,” she said.

“Our hope is that the funding which has been found will avoid the need for what could have been hundreds of job losses in schools – including teachers and classroom assistants, with the unavoidable impact that would have on our children’s learning.
“We welcome too the fact that this money will be allocated directly to schools as it is the principals and those at the chalkface who know best where best to invest this precious funding.

“At a time of such fiscal restraint it behoves us all to look at how best to maximise any investment – but at the same time you cannot risk making short-term decisions when you are talking about our children’s education .

“For the longterm sake of our economy it is more important than ever to ensure that the students of today are adequately equipped to take their place on an increasingly competitive world stage.

“To scythe into our schools’ budgets now would only be storing up trouble for the years ahead and make it even more difficult for the Northern Ireland economy to recover.”