I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. The teachers of Asdee national school, County Kerry, have earned a fine reputation over the years for their dedication and commitment to the education of their pupils and for the calibre of individual the school produces in terms of academic achievement and respect for authority.
The school, by order of the Department of Education and Science, will lose a teacher in the school year September 2000 to 2001. This is because the school had only 82 pupils on 30 September 1999 when the number required for retaining a fourth teacher was 85 pupils. In the forthcoming school year, the number required for a fourth teacher is 83 on 30 September. The principal has informed me that due to the unexpected arrival of five families into the Asdee area, he is confident that he will have 83 pupils on his rolls on 30 September 2000.
The Department is not satisfied, however, that because the school will have 83 pupils on 30 September, it can retain its fourth teacher for the forthcoming school year. It is insisting that as the school did not have the required number of pupils on 30 September 1999, the post of fourth teacher has now been lost. The school will be obliged to have 88 pupils on its rolls on 30 September 2000, that being the number required for a new appointment, as distinct from the 83 pupils required for retention of a teacher.
The parents and teachers of the school believe the insistence by the Department on 88 pupils is very unfair. It means in effect that next year there will be only three teachers to teach 83 pupils, whereas this year there were four teachers to teach 82 pupils. Surely this cannot be considered progress. It will also mean that instead of four teachers having two classes each, two teachers will now have three classes and one teacher will have two classes. At the end of the day, the pupils will lose out because of the pupil-teacher ratio and the inconvenience of one teacher trying to teach three classes.
It is regrettable that the Minister is not present to address this matter. However, I appeal to the Minister of State to convey to the Minister the concerns of the teachers and parents of Asdee national school and to postpone the removal of the teacher from the school or taking the teacher off the panel until September when it will be ascertained if there are 83 pupils. This would mean the school could retain the fourth teacher, otherwise there will have to be 88 pupils in order to appoint a new teacher. This presents a major difficulty in a small country area. Unless the Minister rescinds the order as soon as possible, the fourth teacher will leave the school in a week.
I appeal to the Minister of State to act immediately. This is a small rural school, serving one of the most rural communities in the country. Last week I raised the issue of this area, which services approximately 500 households, having no main water supply. This is an important issue and I hope the Minister of State will respond positively.
