Vol. 308 No. 3
asked the Minister for Education under which circumstances a child may be refused entry to a national school; and if the entitlement of a child aged between four and six to free primary education is any different from that of a child aged from six upwards.
445.
asked the Minister for Education if he will state, in relation to overcrowding, the criteria to be adopted by management committees or school principals in deciding which children shall be admitted and which children shall be refused.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 and 445 together. The matters raised by the Deputy are primarily one for decision by the board of management of the school concerned. The relevant provision in the rules for national schools is as follows:
Rule 10:
No child may be refused admission to a national school on account of the social position of its parents, nor may any pupil be kept apart from the other pupils on the ground of social distinction.
Rule 31:
Fifteen square feet of floor space should be provided for each pupil. In order to prevent overcrowding the Minister may require that the enrolment of pupils shall be restricted so as to allow 15 square feet for each unit of average attendance.
If the figure of average attendance exceeds the limit for which accommodation is approved under this rule, the Minister may require that the younger pupils shall be excluded from the school; if the limit of average attendance is reached, he may require that pupils under six years of age shall be excluded so as to permit the enrolment of pupils over that age who may seek admission to the school. No pupil required to be excluded under this rule can be permitted to be present in the schoolroom during school hours.
