Almost 7,000 Ukrainian pupils enrolled in Irish schools, says department

There are 6,797 Ukrainian pupils currently enrolled in Irish schools, the Department of Education has said.

Of those pupils, 4,766 have been accommodated in primary schools while 2,031 are enrolled in post-primary schools.

The previous update from the department showed that 5,843 Ukrainian pupils had been enrolled as of May 13th.

Dublin has the highest number of Ukrainian pupils, with 819 pupils enrolled in primary school and 373 in post-primary.

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Monaghan has the lowest number with 15 Ukrainian pupils in primary school and seven in post-primary.

According to the department, to assist with the transition of Ukrainian refugees and their families into Irish schools, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) are now in place.

The primary role of the REALT is to build on existing regional education support structures and the initial focus will be on assisting families in securing school places.

REALT are also supporting schools in the area to meet the needs of these children as they emerge, advising and supporting the department in developing new capacity where required, and coordinating the provision of education services to schools and families across their defined area.

There have been more than 500 queries to a special helpdesk on access to higher education since it was set up last month as part of the response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris told the Oireachtas education committee earlier this week he expected this number to grow over the summer months.

Mr Harris said he was to bring a memo to Government soon, seeking agreement for supports for Ukrainian people who wanted to take up third level studies in Ireland.

He said Ukrainian students would not pay foreign fees and would be offered supports equal to the grants on offer to Irish students.

Mr Harris also told the committee that some 229 students here were expected to sit online entrance exams for Ukrainian universities next month.

Minister for Education Norma Foley has said about one-third of school-age children who had arrived from Ukraine were yet to attend a school here, that families were being allowed to make that “judgment call”, and the department was happy to go with the pace that “best suits the child”.

She said there was space for 25,000 children in primary schools and 20,000 in post-primary and she was “confident” the system could meet the challenge presented by the extra students.

At present three Ukrainian students were expected to sit the Leaving Cert and two were to take the Junior Cert exams, Ms Foley said.

She also said that 48 or 49 Ukrainian people had sought registration with the Teaching Council to allow them to work as teachers in Ireland.