This article is from page 6 of the 2013-09-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
OVER 3, 500 Clare children are being taught in classrooms of 30 pupils or more, a meeting has heard.
The increase in the pupil teacher ratio and it’s impact on small and large schools was the focus of much discussion at a public meeting organised by the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation (INTO) in Ennis last week.
The meeting at Tracey’s West County on Thursday night was at- tended by an estimated crowd of 400 people.
In a presentation, INTO Vice President Sean McMahon outlined the level of education cuts that have hit Clare schools in recent years.
The meeting heard that Ireland has the second most crowded class size in the European Union.
Mr McMahon said that of the 13, 501 primary school pupils enrolled in Clare schools in 2012/13 3, 585 are in classroom of 30 or more students; 1,887 are in classrooms of 0-19 students; and 8,029 are in class- rooms with between 20 and 29 students.
Mr McMahon said it is vital that Department of Education and Science moves away from the “madness” of a “magic number” of pupils that determines a school’s future.
He said, “I had a conversation with a teacher in the Ennis area this morning with 37 children in second class. In that class were four children whose first language is not English; there was an autistic pupil and a pupil with Aspergers. They are in a very difficult environment.”
“We want an increase in spending in primary education and a reduction in class size in line with European norms which would facilitate the employment of our young, enthusiastic and well-trained professional young teachers. We also want the madness, which is the assault on smaller schools, some rural and some urban, to cease,” Mr McMahon added.
Brendan Horan INTO National representative urged parents and teachers to lobby government TDs by taking part in the union’s post card and email campaign.