Teachers feel the negative stigma surrounding DEIS schools is undermining the confidence of their students.
A new survey by the Think-tank for Action on Social Change also found poor facilities and big class sizes are holding students back from acheiving their goals.
The programme provides additional supports to about 260,000 students in 360 schools in disadvantaged areas across the country.
This new report, commissioned by the TUI, asked 227 teachers and 49 school leaders about their attitudes towards the scheme.
While 62% said the DEIS programme improved access to higher education, infrastucture and resource problems were preventing more kids from progressing.
Science labs and sports facilities were of particular concern, with 32.5% of teachers rating them as “poor” or “very poor”.
They also reported students are internalising negative stereotypes as they perceive themselves to be “low achieving” or “non-academic”.
The TUI says this stigma needs to be addressed to combat this misconception.
