Cutbacks immoral, say primary school managers

GOVERNMENT cutbacks in education spending are immoral and discriminatory, primary school managers declared yesterday.

In a detailed statement outlining the impact of planned staffing and funding cuts, the seven management bodies representing boards of the country’s 3,300 primary schools called for the coalition to immediately reconsider the range of cuts to front line services planned by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe.

The groups, representing managers of schools under Catholic, Church of Ireland and Islamic patronage, as well as those with multi-denominational and inter-denominational ethos, special schools and all-Irish schools, said budget measures on education were short-sighted and will result in additional costs to taxpayers in the long term.