Department names 364 primary schools set to lose teachers [Irish Examiner]
- Published: 25 February 2009
Source: Irish Examiner
THE 364 primary schools whose pupils will be in bigger classes from September because of the loss of classroom teachers has been revealed for the first time since the measure was announced in last October's budget.
The Department of Education still insists there will be about 200 fewer mainstream teaching jobs in primary schools as a result of the budget decision to sanction one teacher for every 28 children, up from the current allocation of one for each 27 primary pupils.
But the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) said the cut will be nearer to 1,000 when other teaching losses are implemented, and dozens more schools will be prevented from making appointments they should have been entitled to because of rising enrolments.
The projections-based pupil numbers sent to the department by all 3,300 primary schools show that 382 teaching posts will be lost at 364 schools, while 124 schools will gain 128 posts due to a significant rise in pupils.
Every county except Leitrim, Longford and Waterford will suffer a net loss of teaching posts as a result of the changes. The biggest losses are in Dublin, where 102 posts are being lost and only nine gained, with Cork losing 42 posts and gaining 17. The North Dublin Muslim National School and Edenderry Convent NS in Offaly are worst affected with the loss of four teachers each.
Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe's spokesperson said that while the difference between the losses and gains stands at 254 out of 31,000 primary teachers, that is expected to fall to about 200 after other processes are finalised. These include an appeals procedure for dissatisfied schools, the allocation of extra staff to schools with growing numbers categorised as developing schools, and a redeployment scheme under which teachers can be moved to another school in the same region if their post is lost.
INTO general secretary John Carr said that, with the number of primary pupils set to increase by more than 10,000 in September, the cutbacks will result in serious overcrowding in classes. About 500 English language support teachers will be lost to about 300 primary and second-level schools because of a limit of two such staff per school from September.
"While many teachers will be redeployed to other schools, the main impact of the cuts will be widespread unemployment for graduate teachers who simply will not find jobs," he said.
