Minister says Coalition has no mandate to close rural schools

THE COALITION parties have no mandate to close rural schools, Minister of State for Small Business John Perry has told concerned parents in the northeast.

At a Save Our Schools public meeting in Sligo on Monday, the Sligo-North Leitrim TD said the Government had received a strong mandate in the recent election “but we certainly did not get a mandate to close schools”.

“At their peril will they touch any school in this constituency on my watch,” he added.

The Department of Education has initiated a value-for-money review of schools with 50 or fewer pupils following recommendations on potential public sector savings by economist Colm McCarthy. At the same event in Sligo, Independent MEP Marian Harkin expressed concern that the  amalgamation of small rural schools might be seen as a means of delivering the  Minister for Education’s radical plan for reducing the number of Catholic primary schools.

She said the two issues were “totally separate agendas” and  it was important to ensure that one agenda would not drive the other.

The organisers of the Sligo meeting have pledged to step up the campaign and to make contact with concerned community groups in other counties who are worried about the implications of the Government’s  review of small schools.

Ms Harkin said the argument in favour of small schools could be won on a value-for-money basis.

She said it was being suggested that the closure of schools with 50 pupils or fewer could generate savings of €18 million in teachers’ salaries, “a drop in the ocean” compared to recent bank bailouts.

Ms Harkin said this translated into about €31,000 for each of the 570 schools with fewer than 50 pupils  and would not cover the cost of new classrooms, sports facilities and increased transport.

The meeting heard that parents were already questioning whether to enrol children in schools which may be facing closure  so  there was a danger that it would be “a self-fulfilling prophesy”.

School principal June McCormack said it was very important the Government clarify the situation for schools nationwide as parents of prospective pupils were already asking if they would still be open in five years’ time.