Teachers being terrorised by gangland-style pupil violence

Out-of-control behaviour by some second-level students in disadvantaged areas is bordering on gangland culture.

Pupils as young as 14 or 15 are engaged in increasing levels of violence, which leave teachers in some schools with injuries such as broken bones and chipped teeth.

The injuries can be so serious that every term some teachers need hospital or other medical attention, and may not return to work because of the stress they suffered.

The issue was raised at the annual conference of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), which heard how teachers can run a daily gauntlet of abuse, intimidation and attack.

Audrey Cepeda of the Dublin city branch of the union, which has 1,000 members, said it used to be a case of teachers hoping they would have a good year, and then a hope that it would be a good term, but now it was down to worrying about each 40-minute class period.

She said that in some cases a "gangland culture" was now evident in schools.

Ms Cepeda said a teacher might be in a situation where a student was prone to throwing chairs and the teacher would be thinking: "Before lunch he threw two, I hope he doesn't throw one in my class."

She said her branch was now dealing with two assaults on teachers every term where hospital treatment was required.

"I am talking about ambulances being called, months and months of physiotherapy. I am talking about some of them not being able to return to work due to injury sustained by students," she said.

Ms Cepeda claimed in some instances, school managements were failing in their duty of care to teaching staff and a motion adopted by the conference has instructed the union leadership to "act decisively on behalf of members subject to abuse, intimidation and violence".

While Ms Cepeda has first-hand knowledge of the situation in the Dublin city area, she said there were similar problems in other parts of the country.

June Coughlan, also of Dublin city branch, said teachers were on the front line dealing with the fallout from cuts to education, including guidance counselling, which was vital in dealing with social problems, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

Source-Irish Independent