Madam, - The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, claims that primary class sizes cannot be reduced because there is not a sufficient supply of qualified teachers.
This is hard to believe considering the number of teachers who qualified from St Patrick's College this year and cannot find full-time jobs. Many principals over the summer reported receiving over 100 CVs for each job advertised.
Could it be that the Minister is not prepared to pay for the extra teachers? I would advise her to come up with a more plausible explanation for her failure to meet pupils' needs. - Yours, etc.,
AISLING MULLALLY, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.