THE LARGEST teachers' union in the country has criticised suggestions that immigrant children should be segregated from other students in the classroom until they are able to speak English.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said the call by Fine Gael's education spokesman Brian Hayes TD to separate students with poor language skills was discriminatory, inequitable and deeply flawed.
Mr Hayes was quoted in the Irish Independent yesterday as saying many parents were frustrated at the effect the lack of segregation was having on the education of their English-speaking children.
Fine Gael yesterday said Mr Hayes's proposal was not party policy, although the issue would be considered by the party at a later date. Mr Hayes was unavailable for comment yesterday evening.
The union's general secretary, John Carr, said the measure would end up depriving children of interaction with other students. Such interaction is one of the best ways to learn a new language.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) said it supported the idea of separate classes initially for some immigrant children that would focus on English language skills. It said best practice in this field was to provide "immersion classes" when it came to the integration of students.
However, it said it did not support "segregating" pupils and that second-level teachers had been welcoming students from diverse backgrounds into schools for many years.
Lucy Gaffney, chairwoman of the National Action Plan Against Racism, accused the Government of "sitting on its hands for the last decade" on the issue of guidelines for teaching immigrant children in schools.
She said the classroom was the ideal place for children of different cultures to mix and criticised the Department of Education for failing to show leadership on the issue. "We should be doing all in our power to promote integration rather than separation," Ms Gaffney continued.
"I find it incredible that after 10 years of net immigration into Ireland, of families and children from all over the world, the Government is still waiting on the publication of reports and research before it decides on the best approach for teaching immigrant children in our schools.
"What has the Department of Education been doing for the past decade if it finds itself unable to provide clear guidelines on this important matter?"
The department says it has no plans to segregate immigrant children from mainstream classes, except for short periods for language support. It is awaiting the outcome of three reports before deciding if any changes in the provision of English language tuition are necessary.
Meanwhile, the State's main language and integration centre for immigrants has closed down, according to Siptu.
Integrate Ireland Language and Training, a Government-funded company that provided English language training to adult refugees and produced teaching materials for schools, closed with the loss of more than 40 jobs.
The Department has said it will integrate the service provided by the company into mainstream bodies such as the vocational education committees.