The student contribution charge will be increased by 33 per cent from €1,500 to €2,000, according to the National Recovery Plan.
In what is likely to be a very controversial move, a range of supports to literacy and school completion programmes also face a five per cent cut.
The increase in student charges - while painful for students and parents - is less than had been anticipated . There has been speculation last month that the fee would double to €3,000.
In other changes, the Government is to cap the number of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) at the current level of over 10,000. No reduction in the number of SNAs is proposed during the four-year life-span of the plan, a move which will be greeted with some relief by parents and schools.
Other key measures include:
*A five per cent reduction in all capitation or support grants for schools including grants for adult literacy , community education, school completion programme and Youthreach.
*A five per cent in the non pay grant to universities and the institutes of technology;
* A new €200 charge for Post Leaving Cert students and *New operational efficiencies in the school transport scheme, yielding savings of €17 million per year.
The overall education will decline by three per cent over the lifetime of the plan from €9.2 billion to €8.9 billion in 2014.
Pay and pensions, which absorb about 75 per cent of all education spending , will actually increase by two per cent over the four years. Most of this , however, is due to the projected increase in the school population which will require extra teachers.
The main pain for the education sector will come in the non-pay elements of the budget which faces a 16 per cent cut over the next four years.
Surprisingly, the plan makes no commitment to cut teacher supervision and substitution costs which has soared to over €200 million. Bit government sources say this issue will be addressed in next month's budget.
The plan also fights shy of any cuts in class size. But it hints that this could become necessary if the Croke Park deal on public service reform fails to deliver significant cost savings.
The plan says education partners will be given an opportunity to contribute to the process of identifying a range of measures that the Government can consider. But it warns ; "If alternative feasible measures to deliver these savings cannot be achieved , appropriate increases in the classroom teacher allocation schedule will be introduced."
President of the Union of Students in Ireland Gary Redmond said the increase in the fee would deny thousands of students the opportunity of a third level education, and consign many of them to unemployment and emigration.
"The double whammy of fee increases and grant cuts will serve as a mortal blow to not only the Irish education system but the Irish economy in general," he said.
"In the current recession, it is a simple fact that students and their families will not be able to afford a Registration Fee hike and this measure will directly lead to students dropping out.
Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan said the Government had gone as far as it could to protect frontline education services over the four years of the plan.
She said that while difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across her Department’s remit, the Government recognised "the critical importance of the education and skills sector as the engine of Ireland’s recovery and future prospects".
Ms Coughlan said, however, the sector must embrace "radical reform, dust off the status quo, and ensure continually better outcomes for such a large commitment from the taxpayer".
She said the Government would publish a new national strategy for higher level education in the coming weeks, which would involve "significant reform for the sector".
"In training and skills, next year will see a freshly mandated training agency focus on the efficient delivery of skills training. We need new working practices and greater flexibility from public servants across the education and skills sector. These and many other reforms are required to ensure the best possible outcome for such a significant investment at such a critical time for our country.”
The Tánaiste said the changes being implemented in 2011 are spread across the education and skills sector and include the school transport scheme, supervision and substitution, student supports and Fás training allowances. She said the specific details of the measures would be announced in the Budget.
