Teachers urged 'to return’

Press, 3 December 1987, Page 8

Teachers urged 'to return’

Political reporter

The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, yesterday urged teachers to return to their stalled pay talks with the State Services Co-ordinat-ing Committee. Mr Lange said he had refrained from commenting on the talks until yesterday, as teachers’ pay was fixed by an independent employing authority.

“However, issues of education management have been raised which

are my responsibility.” Mr Lange regretted that the Post-Primary Teachers Association had walked away from the chance to discuss the way schools were managed. There was broad agreement among those involved in education that schools should reflect the character of their communities. “The P.P.T.A. has declared itself as having no interest in managing the resources of schools to

best meet the needs of the communities they exist to serve.”

Mr Lange said that the P.P.T.A. seemed to equate management with dictatorship. “By creating a monster which does not exist, the P.P.T.A. is refusing to discuss the elements of good management

Mr Lange said that the way teachers were paid was a big part of management, and would have to be settled in the context

of the Picot committee which is reviewing school management. He said the employing authority proposed nothing immediately, but was only asking the P.P.T.A. to come to grips with management issues. “By walking away from the negotiations the P.P.T.A. is walking away from some of the most important issues not only in schools but also in society as a whole,” said Mr Lange.