Schools hold five fundraisers a year to keep services going

Schools in West Cork have to hold five fundraisers per year to keep services running, a survey shows.

Primary pupils are more likely than secondary students to use e-books and at least one-in-three schools teach children in prefabs, with most principals in secondary schools worried about their ability to cater for rising demand.

The findings of the survey by Cork South West Labour TD Michael McCarthy reflect many of the issues that affect schools nationwide, but capacity for growing pupil numbers appears to be a particular concern for the region.

Although 60% of the 45 primary schools that took part in the survey are comfortably able to meet current demand, four of the seven secondary schools that responded believe they will have problems in the next five years.

Part of the issue appears to be the availability of population data from the Department of Education, with less than half satisfied with the quality or availability of information.

Although schools hold an average of five fundraising events each year, that number could rise as funding for day-to-day running costs is due to be cut further.

The capitation grant to schools was cut this year by 6.3% to €178 per primary pupil, and by 3.3% to €317 per student at second-level.

Principals also spoke about curriculum overload at primary level, while at the same time reporting that Irish and maths are the most common subjects pupils struggle with. Part of Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s national literacy and numeracy strategy should see schools devoting more time each day to these areas.

The average class sizes in the surveyed schools was 21 pupils at primary-level and 27 at second- level. But with two West Cork schools due to lose a teacher this year because of staffing cuts, and others fearing losses in coming years, one-in-nine West Cork primary schools raised concerns.

“While I recognise that this may cause difficulties for the schools involved, it is a far cry from the decimation of rural Ireland that some quarters were predicting the changes would bring about,” Mr McCarthy said.

He said more formal structures to give schools access to population trends would help them map out future needs.

“I think there needs to be greater communication between individual schools and the department. Many schools also spoke of the difficulty they had in keeping up with changes to department policy, and the associated paperwork that comes with it,” he said.