Ireland

Budget cuts are forcing students “in some schools [to face] the loss of important Leaving Certificate subjects such as physics and chemistry next autumn…”  This article highlights how two-out-of-three schools are considering dropping one or more subjects for fifth or sixth years as schools face tighter budgets.  The last budget “cut the extra hours allocation that schools get to provide guidance counselling, resulting in the loss of 700 posts, or an average loss of 0.8 teachers in each school, next September.”  Many schools will have to pay for guidance counselling out of their general allocation of teaching hours, resulting in less funds for instructors who teach Leaving Cert subjects.  In addition to physics and chemistry, other leaving certs schools will likely drop include accountancy and economics.