Lios Póil set to lose a teacher under new pupil-teacher ratios

THE Lios Póil community joined the teachers and staff of Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste in solidarity last Thursday night at a public meeting called to highlight the fact that the school will lose a teacher this year if the government’s new pupil-teacher ratios go ahead.

Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste, Lios Póil, was a four-teacher school with 80 pupils on the roll in September 2011.

Prior to this, Gaeltacht schools required 76 pupils in order to retain four teachers. The requirement outside the Gaeltacht for four teachers was 81 pupils.

Under these new proposals, Gaeltacht schools no longer have this special concession.

In addition, schools such as Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste in Lios Póil will now not alone have to match the requirement increasing their numbers to match schools outside the Gaeltacht, they will also have to increase their existing numbers to match proposals outlined by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.

“Broken down, what this means for Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste is that because we had only 80 pupils registered in September 2011 we will lose a teacher, as the Department now requires us to have 83 in line with schools outside the Gaeltacht,” explained Principal Áine Uí Loingsigh “even though we will have 86 enrolled next September 2012, and will regain our fourth teacher in 2013-2014”.

“A school of the same size outside the Gaeltacht will see an increase from 81 to 83 pupils for four teachers, for us we are going from 76 to 83 as we are also losing the concession for Gaeltacht schools. This is discrimination against primary schools in Gaeltacht areas because we have seen our pupil/teacher ratio increase by seven as opposed to other small schools, who have seen theirs increased by two”.

The staff at Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste in Lios Póil are also anticipating a decrease in learning support hours and parents and community members vocalised their displeasure at the cutbacks at the public meeting held in the school last Thursday.

If this new pupil/teacher ratio prevails, Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta expects that 13 of the 14 Gaeltacht schools in the county will lose a teacher over the next three years.

“If this happens it will surely have the effect of decimating rural areas such as Corca Dhuibhne thus accelerating the decline of the language."

According to Kerry South TD Brendan Griffin, the issues facing primary schools in the Gaeltacht was one of the key discussion points at a Fine Gael Parliamentary Party last week.

A meeting of the internal Fine Gael Education Committee is to take place tonight (Wednesday) where possible alternative measures will be discussed with Minister Ciaran Cannon and Neil Ward, advisor to Minister Quinn.