Teachers step up class size campaign

PRIMARY teachers look set to step up their campaign for improvements in class sizes at their annual conference next week.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has attracted 18,000 people to more than 30 public meetings on the issue in the past six weeks. A motion calling for the union to campaign vigorously with parents and school managers to secure substantial class size reductions is likely to receive unanimous backing.

The annual congress in Cork from April 9-11 will be attended by almost 800 delegates, who are likely to make their feelings on the issue clear to Education Minister Mary Hanafin when she addresses them on April 10.