CHANGES TO the pupil-teacher ratio which would mean larger classes in primary and second-level schools have been proposed by the Department of Education.
The department has indicated to Government that increasing the number of children in a classroom is the most effective means of achieving sizeable savings in the education budget. It says that annual economies of at least €75 million can be achieved by such a move.
The proposal – set to be a key part of the next budget – would mean more than 1,100 teaching posts left unfilled at primary and second level. It is certain to elicit a furious response from the teacher unions and it will also concern parents.
Bigger class sizes would also have serious implications for students in teacher training, making it even more difficult to secure teaching posts. It is understood the department also favours a rationalisation of teacher training.
While there is no plan to close any of the five State-funded teacher-training colleges, it says the current situation, where 21 colleges are providing 42 courses, cannot continue. The department is expected to demand that some courses be merged.
The proposals for primary schools include a one-point increase in the staffing schedule, with one teacher for every 28 pupils; it is now one to 27. This could potentially mean the loss of 350 posts. The cost to the taxpayer of each of these jobs is €60,000, including pensions etc, yielding savings of €21 million, according to the department.
Plans for second-level schools include a single point increase in the staffing schedule, with one teacher for every 20 pupils. It is now one to 19, except in fee-paying schools where it is already one to 20. This could translate into a potential loss of 850 teaching posts. The cost of each of these jobs is €64,000, yielding savings of €54 million, according to the department.
Under the terms of the EU-IMF agreement the unions have to accept increases in class size if equivalent savings cannot be achieved on payroll. The proposal echoes that in the McCarthy report which recommended class sizes of 29 or more.
Irish primary schools already have the second-highest average class size in the EU. Last year department figures revealed that more than 106,000 pupils are in classes of 30 or more while some 8,000 are being educated in classes of 35 or more.
The problem of overcrowding is particularly acute in the Dublin commuter counties – Carlow, Kilkenny, Meath, Laois, Wicklow and Kildare.
Three years ago more than 100,000 people attended protests held by teachers’ union the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation.
A decade ago Fianna Fáil promised to reduce class sizes for under-nines to below 20, in line with international norms.
