Michael Ring
Question:547 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education the plans, if any, he has to introduce the same teacher-to-pupil ratio in rural areas as applied in the urban areas of the country. [14260/97]
Written Answers - Pupil-Teacher Ratio.
A uniform pupil teacher ratio of approximately 22 to one applies to all mainstream rural and urban primary schools. I assume, therefore, that the Deputy is referring to the reduced class size which is a feature of the urban dimension of the breaking the cycle pilot project.
The pupil-teacher ratio in question applies to the junior classes of the 25 schools selected for inclusion in the urban dimension of the pilot project. These schools were selected on the basis of objective criteria devised by the Education Research Centre.
The support measures made available to urban and rural schools under Breaking the Cycle were recommended by the ERC following a detailed study of educational disadvantage in urban and rural settings. The support packages differ only to the extent that the reduced pupil ratio of 15 to one applies to urban schools but not to rural schools.
There are 123 schools included in the rural dimension of this pilot project and a total of 25 locally based co-ordinators have been appointed to service these schools.
The ERC has been commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness of both the rural and urban dimensions of this pilot project. As part of this review, the appropriateness and effectiveness of the two distinct approaches, urban and rural, will be examined. The effect of the reduced pupil teacher ratio in the urban schools will be an important part of the review.