Save our small schools by applying good practice rather than cuts [IrishTimes]
- Published: 29 December 2011
OPINION: FROM THE start of next year, small schools across the country with four teachers or fewer will start to close, robbing local communities of a vital part of their identity and jeopardising our high standards of primary school education.
Phased adjustments announced by the Government in the budget will be made to the staffing schedules for one-, two-, three- and four-teacher primary schools with fewer than 86 pupils.
In many cases, small schools are the last remaining element of organised public service as Garda stations, post offices and grocery shops disappear one by one.
It is regrettable that the Department of Education and Skills considers our network of rural schools superfluous and financially unviable. Recent research by Jim Spinks, research fellow at Melbourne University on behalf of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network, shows that schools with four teachers or fewer are as financially viable as medium-sized schools with between eight and 15 teachers.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
