IPPN

The myth of free primary education

Published: 23 September 2008

Irish Times

By: Aidan Gaughran

TEACHING MATTERS: WHAT A difference a year makes - not a lot actually! This time last year, primary schools re-opened after the summer break with reasonable hopes that at long last, things were about to change.

A new Programme for Government promised, among other things, an end to overcrowded classes, more money for running costs and investment in schools ICT.

Teachers looked forward to teaching rather than crowd- control. Parents were hopeful that "voluntary" contributions would come to an end. Pupils expected that they would have the same technology in class as they have at home.

A year later and all of that expectation has evaporated. Class sizes remain the second highest in the EU.

"We will," claimed the government, "increase the number of primary teachers by at least 4,000. This will enable us to reduce class sizes. The staffing schedule will be reduced from a general rule of at least one teacher for every 27 pupils in 2007/08, by one point a year, to one for every 24 children by 2010/11."

The truth is that there are more teachers. Nothing like the 4,000 promised, but there are more. But not one of them has been used to tackle over- crowded classes. There are more teachers because there are more children. More children in the same over-crowded classes.

It will probably never become public, but I'd lay a bet that many principals are now on prescribed drugs for their nerves. They are faced with utility bills (their largest expenditure) that are on an upward, out-of-control spiral. Last year, almost every school relied on "voluntary" contributions from parents to plug the gap between what it costs to run a school and what the Department of Education is prepared to pay. Add to that the charges that are now ringing up in schools every time someone washes their hands or uses a toilet.

This year, as I write, principals are dusting down the same begging letters but with a new sense of urgency. The really difficult question is how much they can request from parents who themselves are struggling with rising energy costs.

More and more parents are seeing through the myth of free primary education.

Last but by no means least, most schools will have seen their computer facilities edge another year closer to obsolescence, unless of course their parent community has dug into its pockets and provided the cash. For most pupils, the interconnected, high-tech world that increasing numbers of them can comfortably negotiate outside school stops at the school gate.

I know many teachers who, before they attempt anything with computers in schools, issue the warning "Don't try this at home". The danger is that it might actually work on a home computer.

Others have given up on trying to get life out of clapped-out school computers.

In the meantime, all schools got a glossy report on school computing entitled Investing Effectively. I heard one principal threw it across the staff room with the words "invest what?"

It has been five months since Minister O'Keeffe took office - five months to make a difference.

So far, not so good. Memo to minister on primary teaching - could do better!