Budget raises spectre of super-size classes

SOUTH Galway’s parents, teachers and public representatives are being urged to attend a public meeting on Monday next to discuss difficulties facing schools and the “severe effects” of expected cuts in education as part of this year’s Budget.
According to one well-known local educator, children will be forced to learn in “super-size classes” if the Government changes the pupil to teacher ratio from 27:1 to 30:1 as part of Budget 2012.
“This meeting will explore the effect of budgetary cuts on the value of education that can be offered by schools and will feature a wide-ranging panel of educators, experts and professionals. It will focus on the situation in the education system today and the results of the cuts to date. It will outline what is to be expected in the future and will be of interest to teachers and parents,” explained Joe Killeen, INTO district representative for Galway and Roscommon.
Mr Killeen, principal of Lough Cutra National School, believes any increase in the pupil to teacher ratio will severely affect all schools, big and small.
“Increasing the number of pupils in each classroom will make urban school more crowded as the Irish primary school classrooms are already accommodating classes in excess of 30 pupils. A school with 313 pupils at present has 13 teachers but will need 330 pupils, or more, to hold this number after the Budget if the dreaded increases are implemented, leading inevitably to increasing the number of pupils in each class,” he explained.
“Increasing class size has another dimension for the small rural schools when 49 pupils are on the roll. At present in these schools, the pupils are subdivided into three classrooms with 16 pupils in each room on average. If the pupil/teacher ratio is raised by one, the school will comprise two teachers with 25 pupils in each of the two remaining classrooms. The school will suffer the loss of one class teacher leaving each of the two remaining teachers to take four classes, for example, infants to first class and second to sixth class,” he stated.
“The same situation will apply where a school has 81 pupils. A school of this size has four classes with each child in classes of 20 pupils on average. With the increase predicted in the Budget, the school will then revert to three teachers with pupils sharing a classroom with 27. Far from one teacher having to teach one extra pupil, it will diminish the time allocated to individual pupils in all class settings in primary schools. It will mean a dramatic worsening of the conditions in particular schools. We have the second highest pupil/teacher ratio in the European Union at present let’s not make the situation any worse,” Mr Killeen urged.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation launched its Pre-Budget Submission this week seeking to articulate an alternative to the austerity method currently being imposed on education.
Thursday sees events across the country for student teachers and recent graduates.
“With almost 2,000 graduates to qualify this year from university with degrees in education, the issue of newly qualified teachers is a pressing one and the INTO is seeking to help these people by holding a series of meetings on the issue. The issue of pay for recent graduates will also be discussed, particularly given that the INTO is to examine the legality of the new pay regime for recent graduates,” Mr Killeen pointed out.
“Cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget will also increase funding pressure on schools and raising once more the issue of primary schools becoming hard-pressed to provide the highest level of education possible,” he added.
Primary School Education Week 2011, entitled Give Kids Their Chance, is to be marked by schools across the country with a series of events from Monday until Friday, December 2 and designed to raise public awareness of the difficulties already facing schools and the expected cuts in this year’s Budget.
The week is to be part of the build-up to the Budget in conjunction with the protest march organised for Saturday in Dublin, beginning at midday at Parnell Square.
Monday’s meeting and symposium will be held in the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill as part of Education Week and offers parents a chance to voice their concerns about the cuts already implemented in schools as well as further changes possible in the Budget. All are invited to attend the meeting, which begins at 8pm.