ONE IN five primary school pupils are in classes of over 30, according to new Department of Education figures published last night.
In all, over 92,000 Irish schoolchildren are in classes of 30 plus, making Irish classrooms the second most overcrowded in the EU. The latest figures are for last year before the budget decision to increase the pupil/teacher ratio from 27 to 28 was implemented.
Last night, the INTO predicted that Irish class sizes will be the highest in the EU by the end of the current school year.
The new figures are certain to revive the bitter controversy about class size in Irish schools. Last winter, over 100,000 people – including parents and teachers – took part in a series of public meetings about Ireland’s overcrowded classrooms.
In the primary sector alone, there are now some 7,000 more teachers on the department’s payroll than there were in 2002. Extra teachers have been put into the system to specifically reduce class sizes.
The figures show a large number of schools with average class size of over 30 last year.
In Dublin, these include St Pius, Terenure (average 30.6); St Peter and Paul, Balbriggan (30.1); Scoil Mhuire, Chapelizod (31); Scoil Neasain, Harmonstown (30.3) and Scoil Mobhi, Glasnevin (32.6).
Other schools with very large classes include St Aidan’s, Shannon, Co Clare (31.1); Portlaw National School, Waterford (30.3); Scoil Bhríde, Nurney, Co Kildare (30.9) and Killinkere National School, Virginia, Co Cavan (30.9).
The full list is on the department’s website, www.education.ie, under the statistics section.
Last night, Sheila Nunan, incoming INTO general secretary, said that the class size scandal was continuing – despite commitments almost a decade ago to reduce class sizes for the under-nines to less than 20, in line with international best practice.
There is widespread agreement, she said, that younger children do not do as well in overcrowded classes.
“When class numbers are reasonable, modern teaching methods are possible and there is more teacher time for children.
“The figures show clearly that there is no room for further increases in class sizes as proposed in the McCarthy report,” she said.
Last night, a spokesman for Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe said that research studies had shown that “small changes in class sizes have no measurable impact on learning outcomes for students’’, which are largely influenced by the quality of the teacher.
He said that there were now 7,000 more primary teachers on the department’s payroll than in 2002.
The extra teachers have been put into the system specifically to reduce class sizes, he added.
