Gino Kenny
Question:380. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education the estimated full year cost of reducing the pupil teacher ratio to 18:1 in all primary schools. [44937/21]
View answerTuesday, 21 September 2021
Questions (380)
Written answers
Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools.
For the 2021/22 school year, an improvement of one point in the appointment threshold in primary schools has been introduced and schools have been provided with class teachers on the basis of of 1 teacher for every 25 pupils which is a historical low ratio. Lower thresholds are in place for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools. In addition, a three point reduction in the retention scale has also been introduced. These measures will help to ensure that less pupils are required to recruit or retain a teacher
Each one point adjustment to the primary staffing schedule would require approximately 300 teachers at an approximate annual cost of €14.5m.