Jim O'Keeffe
Question:49 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education the recommended number of teaching hours per week in primary schools; and the time allocation recommended for each subject.
Written Answers. - Teaching Hours.
The school meeting in a primary school is required to provide for a minimum of 4 hours and 10 minutes secular instruction daily. It is the practice also to include a period of religious instruction of 30 minutes daily in the school timetable. Thus total weekly teaching hours are 23 hours and 20 minutes.
The school meeting is also required, by rule, to provide for a recreation interval of 30 minutes, and 10 minutes must be time-tabled for roll call.
In keeping with the principles of flexibility and integration inherent in the structure of the curriculum my Department does not lay down specific periods of time for various curriculum activities, but advises that a certain minimum time be spent on each aspect of the curriculum each day.