The staffing schedule for national schools for the 1996-97 school year will be unchanged from the existing schedule. However, I have indicated that no two teacher school which would have lost a teacher under the schedule will do so.
Permanent teachers, who occupy posts which will be suppressed at the end of the current school year due to declining enrolments, will be deployed through the panel system.
The Deputy is no doubt aware of my record on, and commitment to, alleviating education disadvantage. This year, I have decided that I will use surplus posts to implement the recommendations of the Combat Poverty Agency and the Education Research Centre report on new measures to break the cycle of education disadvantage. One very substantial recommendation which will be implementing is the allocation of additional teaching resources to most disadvantaged schools in the primary system, both urban and rural.
Since the selection of schools has not yet commenced, it is not possible to identify accurately at this stage the number of posts required to implement these initiatives.
In addition, surplus posts will be used to extend the substitute supply panel scheme. This scheme, which I initiated in 1993, provides cover for teachers on absences of short duration.
The pupil teacher ratio has been significantly improved since I came into office. I am confident that the measures which I have detailed above will further assist this position for the 1996-97 school year.
