Is the department of Education and Science doing enough to help schools deal with refugee children? Definitely not, say educators. While children who come to Ireland on State-approved schemes - the Bosnian "programme refugees", for example - have been relatively well served, asylum-seekers' children may be getting a raw deal from the Department of Education and Science. Schools are left to pick up the pieces and individual teachers and principals bear the brunt.

"There's no commitment on the part of the Department to put the resources in place that are necessary to deal with the issue successfully," says a teacher. "What they're doing is only a stop-gap measure. I see no evidence that the Department wants to address the issue - they're relying on the good will of teachers, who are doing a lot of things in their spare time."

Talk to teachers about refugee children and the chances are they'll you that most of them are well-mannered, bright and anxious to learn. They bring welcome new cultural dimensions to the schools they attend. In large part, their parents are well educated and keen for their children to succeed.

"They're a lot more motivated than the locals," is one teacher's observation.

"Some of them are very bright and they're picking up Irish more quickly than some of our own children," says a primary school teacher. Local students can benefit enormously from their input. "Having asylum-seekers in the school has been very positive for our lads," comments the principal of a second-level Dublin school. "They've shown our lads a completely different side of life and helped them to understand what other people have had to deal with. Racism becomes much less of an issue when you become acquainted with people from other cultures."

During the last academic year, sanction for extra teachers was given to 21 schools considered to have large numbers of non-nationals. Since then, however, the number of asylum-seekers coming to Ireland has risen sharply. In September, sanction was given for a further 15 teachers for schools catering for the Kosovar children.

Back in March, meanwhile, the Minister for Education and Science, announced the establishment a refugee language support unit, which is developing benchmarks for English language competency at six different levels, including two each at primary and second levels. Teachers, though, view these initiatives as too little, too late. They are feeling frustrated about what they see as a lack of support from the Department. Language teachers are a priority, schools argue. "In junior infants, language is not a great problem - they pick it up very quickly. It's more difficult when they're older," a teacher says. "I have a girl in sixth class who has no English. She is lost. I am lost. The children are quite bright, but because they don't have the language they are failing."

"Our few resources are being exclusively used for non-nationals," says a teacher in a school, which is designated "disadvantaged".

"The home-school liaison teacher spends most of her time with the refugee children and the remedial teacher is being used to bring their English up to speed. There's no resource material available and the Department doesn't acknowledge this." "A huge change has taken place and we haven't been prepared to deal with it," argues another teacher. "Nobody has explained their cultures to us. One day I brought in jellybeans as a treat for the children but the Muslim parents were concerned that they contained gelatine."

"Generally speaking they are very mannerly, but some of them are traumatised by their experiences," notes a national-school teacher. "Some of the younger boys are very aggressive - we don't know if its natural exuberence, part of their culture or because of their experiences." "The Department hasn't addressed the education problem," a male teacher complains. "The only problem being discussed is housing. There's no mention of schools and they are being left to cope alone."

"Last year there were only a few non-nationals in the class and I was able to cope," a primary teacher confides. "This year, there's a lot more. If I had a class of 20 children, it would be fine. As it is, I don't have time to deal with them on a one-to-one basis, which they need, nor do I have time to deal with their cultures."

SOME SCHOOLS fear that unless immediate support is forthcoming, they will be unable to admit more children. "It's seriously on the cards," warns a school principal. "We need information on how to handle the whole situation. We need extra teachers for language and for liaising with parents and we need extra money. We often have to step in and provide books and school uniforms. "The parents don't have the money. As it is, we are not adequately meeting their needs."

"Under the terms of the Education Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Ireland has signed and ratified, it's the responsibility of government to put resources and services in place to meet the needs of non-national children," argues Sara MacNeice, a legal officer in the Irish Refugee Council's legal unit. The Government's initiatives to date are insufficient, she says. Although special education needs are addressed in the Education Act, "there is a need for policy and resources to be put in place to ensure that the needs of these children are met." Schools are doing as much as they can, she says. However, new channels need to be opened between the agencies involved and the Department of Education and Science.

Unaccompanied children - the council estimates that there are currently 36 unaccompanied non-national under-18s in the State - are in a particularly difficult position. A recent survey, carried out in Dublin schools for the European Network on Separated Children in Europe, finds that non-national minors often have to sit in classes where the other students are much younger. In some schools, no extra English language provision is available and teachers are giving additional English classes on a voluntary basis. The survey, which is due to be published in the next few weeks, also shows that separated/unaccompanied children are often unaware that they have a right to education.

"It's important to acknowledge the efforts that schools have made," MacNeice says. "Some schools have introduced pastoral-care programmes and give support for books and uniforms. Some schools have introduced discussions on cultural issues and are working to promote integration. However, the work is coming from the ground up rather than directly down."

The situation looks bleak, but the word on the ground is that the Department of Education is making great efforts to get more teachers into schools which have non-national students. However, if the Department of Finance doesn't come up with the goods, the plight of schools and their non-national pupils is going to get a lot worse.