Vol. 471 No. 3
45 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Education if she will accede to the comprehensive case (details supplied) made by the school authorities at St. Philip's junior and senior national schools in Mountview, Dublin 15, for the provision of a computer teacher to assist local pupils in this disadvantaged area to avail of emerging job opportunities in this key sector. [20683/96]
The allocation of teaching posts in a primary school for a particular year is determined by reference to the number of pupils enrolled in the school on 30 September of the previous year.
The authorised staffing between St. Philip's junior and St. Philip's senior schools for the current school year amounts to 24 posts. Furthermore, the schools have the services of an additional nine ex-quota posts. Accordingly, there is at present no basis for allocating additional staffing resources to either of the two schools.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is conducting a review of the primary school curriculum. The development of a new science programme will form an integral part of the review of the social and environmental programme now in preparation. This new programme will foster the development of scientific thought processes and approaches to problem solving, with an emphasis on critical and constructive thinking.
Until the review of the primary curriculum has been completed, and its contents assessed, the Deputy will no doubt appreciate that it would be inappropriate of me to assign additional staffing resources to the schools in Mountview for computer studies.
