Warning over economic impact of large class sizes

Ireland’s future economic competitiveness will be hit unless the Government acts to reduce primary school class sizes, it was claimed today as figures showed the country had the second biggest classes in Europe.

Green Party Education spokesman Paul Gogarty called on Minister Mary Hanafin to honour the Government’s pledge to cut class sizes to 20 pupils for all under-nines.

He made the appeal following a survey by the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) which found Irish primary schools had an average class size of 24.5, the second highest in Europe.

INTO general secretary John Carr said thousands of children would be in classes of 30 or more when they headed back to school today.

Mr Gogarty said: “Smaller class sizes have a significant benefit on reading, maths and language, particularly for children under the age of nine.

“Classes are easier to manage and teachers are able to spend more time teaching.

This is something that is clearly understood by the principals and teachers in primary schools, who are on the warpath on this issue.

Unless the situation is addressed, our children will not reach their full potential.

“One in seven Irish children leave primary school with literacy problems. Clearly, class sizes need to tackled if this is to be improved.”

According to the INTO, most European countries have significantly smaller primary school classes than Ireland, with Denmark averaging 19, Italy 18, and Luxembourg 15 children in a class.

Many schools have more than 30 students in their largest class, for example St Peter and St Paul’s Boys National School in Baldoyle which has 38 children in its biggest class and St Brigid’s Boys National School, Palmerstown, which has 35.

A case study of Terenure Boys National School showed every class from Junior Infants to 6th Class had at least 30 children.

Mr Carr said the Government had done nothing to honour its commitment to bring down numbers, and that cutting the size of classes had to be a priority.

In order to be successful, reductions had to start in infant schools and last throughout primary school, classes had to have no more than 20 children and disadvantaged children must be prioritised, he said.

“Teachers cannot implement a hands-on, active learning curriculum, foster creativity and develop individual talents and skills when they have the second largest classes in Europe,” he said.

“By failing to keep its promises to reduce class size the Government is risking Ireland’s future.

“By 2015, one in four Irish people will be employed in knowledge intensive sectors. Many of those will start primary school this week.

“Skills in problem solving, critical thinking skills, team building, communication and inter-personal skills, the ability to take risks and to experiment are the vital skills and attributes that the innovative workplace of the future will require.

“But these skills cannot be developed in classrooms where there are so many children that teachers must stand at the top of a classroom lecturing to 30 pupils and more,” he warned.