Loughrea protest over small schools

Teachers and board of management members from rural schools throughout Clare will participate in another protest march in Loughrea this Saturday.
They will be joined by their colleagues from, Galway and Roscommon to highlight the unfair treatment of small schools including Gaeltacht, Island and minority religions and overall Government plans for draconian education cuts.
This protest will commence at the Old Railway Station at 2pm and proceed through the town to the Office of Minister of State at Department of Education, Ciarán Cannon, where a petition will be handed in at about 3pm. 
Speaking at a recent community meeting, Sean McMahon, the Clare and Tipperary representative on the INTO national executive, warned current Government policy “will lead to the possible amalgamation/closure of many schools and will make it very difficult for others to survive”.
He criticised the impact of the budget, particularly on schools of four or less class teachers. “In this, the 90th anniversary of independence, we are still not cherishing all children of the State equally.  I find it very difficult to reconcile the fact that Church of Ireland Schools, Island, Gaeltacht and small, rural schools are being treated in such an inferior manner. The pupils’ educational prospects are being disproportionately affected. As John Healy said in 1968 “Nobody cried stop”. Well in 2012, we want the “brakes firmly applied”.
“Not only are children in small schools affected by the recent changes in staffing schedules, children in every school are affected by the budget changes in learning support, resource teaching, language support and the reduction in capitation grant,” he said.
He pointed out a lot of people were not aware that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn had decided every child in primary school is worth less than €1 a day in terms of capitation, which is the contribution the State pays to run our schools.  Yet he noted Minister Quinn and other ministers claim “education is the key to our success”.
“We need to deliver a message firsthand to the Government that small schools in rural Ireland will not be sacrificed to pay for the greed of Celtic Tiger bankers and speculators who have walked away from this mess, untouched, with obscene pensions and lump sums.
“If this Government has any commitment to the children of this nation, they must take away the tax loopholes that the wealthy enjoy, tax those who can afford to pay and use that money to educate and provide jobs for this generation. That is the only way to get this country back on its feet,” he said.
He explained decisions about small schools in rural communities should be about ensuring the best education for pupils, regardless of location. 
“This is a complex matter and many issues need to be considered before embarking on a policy that will see some schools close. We need to look at enrolment patterns and trends, investment in school buildings past and present and respect for language and religious diversity. 
“Primary consideration must be given to the needs of pupils, their parents and the wider community. We also need to come up with alternatives to forced closure and pressurised amalgamations,” he added.