Micheál Martin
Ceist:201 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Education the number of teachers to be allocated towards the implementation of the recently announced scheme for disadvantaged schools in the 1996/1997 school year. [12826/96]
Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Schools.
The precise number of teachers which will be required under my recent initiative aimed at breaking the cycle of education disadvantage will not be known until the schools which will be selected to participate in the scheme have been identified.
The number of junior classes in the 25 schools selected in the urban areas will be particularly relevant in this regard, since the pupil teacher ratio in each such class will be reduced to 15:1. In addition, a coordinator, who will be a seconded teacher, will be appointed to support the development of the programme in these schools.
Also under the initiative, 25 clusters of small schools with fewer than five teachers, and particularly those in rural areas with high levels of disadvantage, will receive a targeted programme of supports. Twenty-five coordinators, each of whom will be a seconded teacher, will be appointed to work with the selected schools.