Foreign students who are paid to help teach their native languages in the Isle of Man could be axed to save cash.

Manx schools have employed the services of Foreign Language Assistants in French, German and Spanish for some time, but the Department of Education and Children says the posts may be scrapped, as budgets are tightened.

The department says the Foreign Language Assistants work twelve hours a week between October and May.

They are usually university students but there are several teachers who are foreign nationals, which has seen the number of FLAs decline in the last couple of years.

In a statement, the department says there is no doubt the foreign language assistants offered a different experience to schools, which will be missed.

However, it adds that no final decision has been made on how many students will arrive on the Island to teach in the next academic year.