This article is from page 18 of the 2006-11-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
TEACHERS in Clare’s overcrowded classrooms remain unconvinced that the 800 teachers promised by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin for next year will go a long way to easing their plight.
The minister plans to provide the teachers from the 10 per cent increase in funding to her department announced in the Government estimates.
Teachers across Clare are scepwtical of such promises, as half of them are teaching in overcrowded classrooms, despite years of Government promises. According to Declan Kelleher Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) Central Executive Representative for Clare, 100 of the 800 teachers promised have been employed for special needs, 200 as language teachers and a further 200 to cope with the rise in population in developing schools. Therefore 500 teachers will have no affect on the teacher pupil ratio, with 300 having minimal effect.
In the 2002 Programme for Government Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats promised one teacher for every 20 pupils under the age of eight by the end of the Government term.
“So far they are a long way from that,” said Mr Kelleher.
The INTO in Clare completed a survey of class sizes in every Clare Primary School during October.
The survey revealed that for the school year 2006-07, more than a half of the county’s primary pupils would be in overcrowded classrooms. It shows that almost a quarter – 3,016 – of Clare primary pupils are in classes of between 30 and 34 children. Another 611 pupils are in classes of 35 or over (4.5 per cent) and 3,409 pupils are in classes of up to 29 pupils (25 per cent).
Minister Hanafin also promised, “investment in special education is to increase to over €820 million which will see the commencement of the EPSEN Act implementation.