Vol. 402 No. 9
97 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to a severe overcrowding at Scoil Mhuire Na Trocaire national school, Ardee, County Louth; that the pupil-teacher ratio in many of the classes is in excess of 36; if this is in keeping with her current policy; if she will take steps to correct this serious situation; if so, when; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
The board of management of Scoil Mhuire Na Trocaire have not been in contact with my Department regarding the severe overcrowding at the school referred to by the Deputy.
As the Deputy will be aware, there is an agreement between the Government and the INTO regarding the staffing of national schools. As part of this agreement my Department have implemented a reduction of one unit in the enrolment-staffing schedule for national schools from 1 September 1990. This agreement has led to an improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio in national schools for the 1990-91 school year.
Under existing arrangements negotiated under the auspices of the Central Review Committee, school authorities, in particular the principal teacher, are responsible for arranging the organisation of the school so as to ensure that no class group exceeds the following guidelines set down by my Department: 39 (in the case of a single-grade class-group); 38 (in the case of a class-group with two consecutive grades) and 35 (in the case of a multi-grade class-group).
There is no class in breach of the Department's guidelines on maximum class size.
