18th January 2023
In response to the letter sent to schools by the Education Authority [EA] with respect to Education budget cuts Mr Gerry Murphy, Northern Secretary of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation [INTO] said;
“The letter received in schools today from the EA will land on school communities already at their wits end after a full decade of underfunding that has been compounded by a pandemic. Principals and Governors who already struggle to maintain a service on its knees will be faced with an ever-increasing series of unpalatable decisions. The budget imposed on education by the Secretary of State [SOS] and the Northern Ireland Office [NIO] is woefully inadequate in meeting the needs of our children and young people. This is the real import of today’s letter from the Chief Executive of EA.
INTO members across the education system will find themselves being called upon yet again to stretch themselves to deliver and manage an ever-shrinking service. This is totally unacceptable, and INTO members simply will not do it. Our members are already engaged in industrial action and this budgetary disaster can only serve to further exacerbate that dispute. The children and young people in our members’ care are the innocent victims of a political strategy which is cynically using them to apply pressure on our absentee local politicians. The architects of this sorry state of affairs need to step-up and earnestly reflect on their position to put an end to the damage they are inflicting.”
Mr Murphy went on to say;
“The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated that in 2021-22, spending in Scotland was £7,600 per pupil (including COVID-related spending) and £6,400 in Northern Ireland (excluding COVID-related funding). Spending per pupil in England is expected to be £6,700 with the equivalent figure being £6,600 in Wales (both excluding COVID-related funding). When extrapolated out, this means that equivalent funding in Northern Ireland is approximately £108m lower (based on spending per pupil) than in England. This is both shocking and wholly unacceptable.”
Mr Murphy concluded;
“In the time ahead, INTO will continue to resist the cuts which will flow from this callous strategy and actively campaign for the essential financial uplift and stability our education system urgently needs. Principals, governors, teachers, and parents must come together to challenge the SOS and the NIO. INTO is steadfast in its resolve to contribute to this resistance and remains available to lead and support a campaign to ensure that our education system has the funding that our children and young people deserve.”