INTO issues warning on staffing levels

STAFFING levels in primary schools need to be dramatically increased, the Irish National Teachers Organisation president Gerry Malone warned last night.

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.