INTO demands meeting to discuss govt promise on class sizes

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has reacted angrily to the Minister for Education's admission that the Government will not be fully honouring its commitment to reducing class sizes.

Mary Hanafin admitted yesterday that the target of reducing class sizes to 20 for pupils under nine years old would not be achieved in the lifetime of the present administration.

INTO president John Carr has demanded a meeting with the Department of Education to discuss the issue, saying that failure to reduce class sizes because the Government cannot afford to hire teachers is a false economy.