The new president of the country’s largest second-level teachers’ union today vowed to fight against education cutbacks during his time in office.
Joe Moran, a history, business studies and religion teacher in Co Tipperary, will become President of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland on Saturday.
“The education cutbacks have dealt a devastating blow to schools all over the country,” Mr Moran said today.
“My goal is to develop closer links between the partners in education - teachers, parents and school managers - so that we are empowered to reverse cutbacks such as the removal of the School Books Grants Scheme from most schools, the significant reduction in funding for second-level schools, and the axing of teaching jobs,” he said.
“These are challenging times and I am under no illusion as to the seriousness of the economic crisis facing the country. A key challenge for the ASTI and teachers is convincing the public and our politicians that without adequate investment in education, there will be no foundation for economic recovery,” said Mr Moran.
“Our schools were badly under-funded even before these cutbacks were announced. We all want an education service that is efficient, but efficient does not mean cheap. Real efficiency requires adequate investment.”
Mr Moran, who teaches at Presentation Ballingarry, lives in Thurles. He previously served as ASTI vice president and regional representative for Tipperary, Kilkenny and Roscrea. He succeeds Pat Hurley, a science teacher at Midleton CBS in Co Cork.
The ASTI represents over 18,000 teachers in second-level schools.