ALMOST half of all primary schools are unable to pay for basic running costs because of inadequate State support, according to a survey by the Irish National Teachers Organisation.
Highlighting the absence of essential materials and facilities at primary level, the survey reveals that eight out of 10 schools had to raise funds in order to make up their income shortfall.
Among the issues surveyed were standards of accommodation. Some 17 per cent of responding schools said that they used prefabs as classrooms. Some 39 per cent said that they had inadequate toilet facilities, while 7 per cent did not have a constant supply of water, soap, hand drying facilities or toilet paper.
The survey estimates that schools had to raise almost £4.6 million last year to pay for such essentials. Of the schools involved in fund raising, 77 per cent raised money for teaching materials, 62 per cent for running costs, 47 per cent for audio visual equipment, 45 per cent for sports equipment and 29 per cent for computers.
The general secretary of INTO, Senator Joe O'Toole, said that such fund raising had become endemic" in the system. He maintained that dependence on local communities to subsidise running costs resulted in disparities between "rich and poor schools". Primary schools based in affluent areas were inevitably better resourced, he said.
Describing teaching conditions as an embarrassment", he said that the survey highlighted the urgent need to substantially increase the capitation grant for primary schools. At present, £45 is allocated for each primary school pupil, compared to a £177 allocation for each second level student.
Another finding deals with the shortage of computers in the primary sector. According to the survey, only one computer is available for every 100 pupils. Senator O'Toole described this as unacceptable in an era when information technology was acknowledged as a major growth sector in the economy.
The inadequacy of support services, such as caretakers, secretaries and classroom assistants, is also highlighted. Only 12 per cent of respondents employed a full time caretaker, while just one fifth had a full time cleaner. As a result, the report says, more than one in three schools were not cleaned or swept daily.
In a survey of administrative staff the survey found that over half of all primary schools had no secretary. Some 67 per cent of schools surveyed had no classroom assistants, despite a commitment under the PESP and PCW that such services would be expanded. The report points out that the vast majority of assistants in primary schools are employed through FAS schemes.
"Were it not for the existence of FAS schemes, many schools would not have any classroom assistants or, caretaking and clerical assistance", it states.
The survey also highlights a shortage of building space for physical education, concerts and assemblies as well as the absence of a principal's office, staff room or separate library in hundreds of schools throughout the Republic.
All of the State's 3,265 primary schools were surveyed and 2,286 of them responded.
. The Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, said in a statement last night that funding for primary school buildings had increased by 80 per cent during the last four years. "More than £100 million has been invested in the primary school building programme", she said, "and over 7,000 minor works have been sanctioned by the Department of Education."
