INTO issues warning on staffing levels
He demanded that the Government supply enough teachers to keep their promise of smaller class sizes, particularly for disadvantaged schools.
More than 100,000 primary pupils were in classes of more than 30 children in 2001, with around 250,000 in classes varying in size between 20 and 29.
“It is a source of bitter disappointment to us that the main staffing schedule was not improved this year. Some schools will lose a teacher, while many others will not be able to appoint a needed teacher,” Mr Malone said.
“The previous Government promised a maximum of 25 pupils for mixed grade classes and 20 for infant classes. The same parties make up this government so the same promises must be kept,” he told the INTO annual congress in Bundoran.
Despite increases in teacher training places in recent years, up to 40,000 children are still learning from men and women without a primary teaching qualification.
Mr Malone said the maximum class size of 27 in disadvantaged schools should be brought down to 20.
He called on the Government to increase the numbers in the colleges of education and find other ways to train primary teachers.
He said it was unfair to teachers and pupils that staff are not being properly trained to deal professionally with the record number of children with special needs in mainstream classes.
These issues, along with school accommodation and teacher workload, are likely to feature strongly in Education Minister Noel Dempsey’s address to the INTO congress in Bundoran this morning.
Mr Malone also slammed the severe shortage of educational welfare officers to address school attendance and truancy, which has led to added administrative burdens for schools.
He promised the principals of the country’s 3,300 primary schools that the INTO will continue to deliver for them, with growing pressure from headmasters on salaries, allowances and workloads to be discussed by delegates this morning.
After the recent resolution of their long-running pay dispute, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland will be addressed by Mr Dempsey at their annual convention in Limerick this evening.
The annual congress of the Teachers Union of Ireland, representing staff in secondary schools, third level and further education, begins in Ennis this afternoon and will be visited by the minister tomorrow.
