I wish to raise the subject matter of a question in relation to a primary national school in the area of Moyglass, County Galway, in the parish of Ballinakill, where there are four primary schools. Following a question from me to the Minister I got a reply regarding the rumour which went through the parish. The parents were not notified, nor the manager of the school, that it was intended to close the school but rumours spread rapidly and I put a question to the Minister for written reply and found it was provided that Ballinakill national school would cater for the pupils of Moyglass district. It was proposed to close Moyglass national school as soon as the necessary transport arrangements could be made to convey the children to Ballinakill. It was intended that the amalgamation should take effect on the date of re-opening of Ballinakill NS.
The parents of the area summoned the public representatives to a meeting. I attended the meeting at which the manager was also present. I have here an old jotter signed by every one of the parents and the signatures are good and clear. I am not an educational examiner by any means but all, or most, of the parents went to that school in their day. There are 38 children in this two-teacher school. Recently, the Minister has expressed —and I have read it—his intention of retaining two-teacher schools and even one-teacher schools if the parents and the manager so wish. I wondered why he would not apply that intention in Moyglass.
In my opinion, the methods of education are really a matter of opinion. I went to a number of schools and I am not educated, nor indeed can I talk on education, but I met people who were in these mixed schools and came out uneducated. I know of people who attained the highest rank from one-teacher schools. Indeed, the President of America, Abraham Lincoln, never went to school at all. Also, if you read Robert Service's poem, you would know of the parson's son who retired with a verse of Latin and awoke with a verse of Greek. So, education is only a matter of opinion. The Minister has stressed that he will adhere to the idea of considering the views of parents and manager. In this case all the people in the area have signed their names in this jotter asking that their school be retained. A week before that I read in the papers where a school similarly situated in County Monaghan had been allowed by the Minister to retain its present status. That is what I ask.