Class sizes: Government fails test miserably

THREE years after a Government pledge to tackle class sizes, more than 300,000 primary school children are still in classes of more than 25.

Government figures, released to Fine Gael education spokesperson Olwyn Enright in a parliamentary question, also reveal that 73,000 pupils are in classes of more than 30. This breaches Department of Education guidelines urging a maximum of 29 pupils.

In addition, almost 5,000 children are still in classes of more than 35. As part of its Programme for Government in 2002, the Government promised to bring class sizes for the under-nines down to an average of 20, but the latest figures reveal an average size of just under 24.