Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:146 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans he has in respect of the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools. [21464/00]
Written Answers. - Pupil-Teacher Ratio.
The Government, since taking up office, has introduced a range of initiatives to significantly reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio has declined from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 20.4:1 in the 1999-2000 school year. The retention of posts arising from the demographic dividend in the current year, together with the creation of an additional 200 posts primarily to tackle educational disadvantage, will help to further reduce the pupil teacher ratio in the 2000-01 school year. Furthermore, under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, it is proposed to appoint an additional 900 primary teachers in the course of the next few years.