Vol. 405 No. 7
82 Mr. Connor asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the pupil-teacher ratio at Creagh national school, County Roscommon, is completely out of line with the accepted norm; and the action, if any, she proposes to take to ensure that the appropriate number of teachers are appointed to correct the serious imbalance in this school.
The position outlined by the Deputy is not correct. The staffing of a national school for a particular year is determined by the enrolment on 30 September of the previous year as outlined in the agreement between the Government and the INTO. Creagh national school have the authorised staffing warranted by the enrolment for the current school year. In addition, the school have the services of a shared remedial teacher and two special class assistants attached to the school.
My Department have examined the current enrolment in this school and find that it is possible for the school to organise the classes to ensure that no class is in breach of the guidelines on maximum class size as set down by my Department.
The implementation of the agreement between the Government and the social partners under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, will contribute to a further reduction in the overall level of class sizes in the primary system.
