Sir, - I hereby call on the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland and the Minister of Education and Science to resolve their dispute immediately - a dispute which will be settled eventually in any case.
The impasse appears to be due at least in part to the intransigence of the ASTI members and to the indifference, belligerence and old-style punitive attitude of the Department and the Minister. It is a sad reflection on the professional status of the teachers and on the level of responsibility of the Government.
The dispute has the potential to cause long-lasting negative effects on the students and it will further undermine and disillusion the rising generation with the educational establishment at all levels. - Yours, etc.,
Prof James Heffron, Chairman, NUI Convocation, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.