Vol. 559 No. 6
50 Ms Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps he intends to take to address the concerns of primary school principals who are threatening a partial work to rule in January 2003 due to detrimental increases in their workload; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26701/02]
I am aware that the introduction of new legislation and changing circumstances in society has created additional impositions on boards of management and principal teachers in primary schools. However, in recent years many improvements have been made to assist principal teachers in the performance of their duties and to relieve their administrative burden. Up until the 1999 to 2000 school year, principals were released from teaching duties to become an administrative principal where the school had a staffing of eight or more mainstream class teachers. From the commencement of the 2000-2001 school year, administrative principals were appointed to ordinary schools with seven mainstream class teachers and in schools with a principal plus eleven or more teachers including ex-quota posts. Further improvements were granted in the 2001 to 2002 school year when schools were allowed to appoint an administrative principal where there were six mainstream class teachers. The provisions were further enhanced for the 2002-2003 school year whereby administrative principles can be appointed to schools with a large number of ex-quota posts where there is a principal plus nine or more teachers in the school.
The scheme of release time was also introduced for the 2000-2001 school year. This scheme enables teaching principals of primary schools to be released from their teaching duties for a specified number of days annually to undertake administrative leadership and management functions. The number of days release time granted is determined by the number of mainstream class teachers in the school. Substitution paid by my Department is provided for the days that principals are on administrative leave. The number of release days granted was further increased for the current school year and boards of management were advised of the increase in a recent circular issued by my Department. Arising from the implementation of the PCW agreement significant improvements were introduced to the management structure of primary schools by the allocation of additional posts of responsibility. It is a matter for the boards of management of schools to delegate functions to post of responsibility holders. The number of posts of responsibility range from two posts of responsibility in a two teacher school to, for example, 20 posts of responsibility in a 40 teacher school. In addition to the above, funding to primary schools for secretarial and caretaking services has increased from the €50.79 per pupil that applied in the 2000-2001 school year, to the €102 per pupil that issued in March 2002 to all eligible schools. This rate will increase further next year to €127.
