Ireland still has 'the busiest classrooms in Europe', teachers' conference hears
The publication of Education Indicators for Ireland 2023 — a report presenting a comprehensive set of educational markers — showed that the pupil-teacher ratio has reportedly fallen from 15.2 to 13.4 since 2018, while in post-primary it has fallen from 12.7 to 12.5. File photo
A significant fall in pupil-teacher ratios at both primary and secondary level is still not enough progress, with Ireland still having the "busiest classrooms in Europe", the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) annual conference has heard.
While there were some welcome announcements from the Department of Education before the start of the conference in Derry on Monday, the mood of the conference was far from buoyant, with chief concerns relating to teacher recruitment and retention.
The publication of Education Indicators for Ireland 2023 — a report presenting a comprehensive set of educational markers — showed that the pupil-teacher ratio has reportedly fallen from 15.2 to 13.4 since 2018, while in post-primary it has fallen from 12.7 to 12.5.
Education Minister Norma Foley also announced €79m in funding to support digital learning in schools and minor building works. The 156th INTO congress was opened by INTO President Dorothy McGinley.
Threaded throughout her speech were reflections on the last INTO conference held in Derry, back in 1934, “just 12 years after the establishment of the free state when Derry felt it had been cut off.”
The historic and whole-island feel of the event was enhanced by a speech laden with the Irish language; memories of John Hume and Martin McGuinness; and flecked with quotations from Padraig Pearse and James Connolly.
“We have come a long way,” the president said. But the general tone of the address was one of disappointment at the condition of the education system in 2024.
“Any good educational system must be all about valuing. It is vital that economic, political and social structures are set up to ensure that everyone in our schools experiences being valued and finding their true worth,” she said.
The most acute anger was felt in comments about class sizes.
“One of the many motions debated at the Derry congress of 1934 was about class sizes and yet 90 years on, why are we still pleading with the departments North and South to reduce our supersized classes.”
The president described “bulging classes, containing children with additional needs, complex needs, emotional and behavioural needs and little or no help for these children and their teachers".
This is "absolutely and unquestionably not acceptable to the INTO," she said.
Some positivity was shared. Pay deals have been settled on both sides of the border. Reflecting on the win, the president said: ”We took example from the great James Connolly, who said, ‘We are on our knees, let us rise.’”
The INTO will therefore “leave no stone unturned,” she said, “as we begin our preparations to progress our next pay claim in September.”
Applause from the auditorium was most resounding over various examples of underfunding, and its impact on children; a call for a more diverse teaching profession; inclusion for all LGBTQ+ members of school communities; and a devotion to the cause of Palestinian people.
Following her speech, in response to the department’s earlier statistic that “the pupil-teacher ratio has fallen from 15.2 to 13.4 since 2018,” President McGinley shared her continuing frustration.
“I’m still visiting bulging classrooms with over 30 students, with highly diverse students. We fought hard and reduced classrooms by one student for two years in a row, but that hasn’t happened this year. We have the busiest classrooms in Europe. That hasn’t changed.”
INTO delegate and teacher from Wicklow, Maebh Egan, was pleased with the opening speech. “The president has travelled all over the country. She knows the issues and remembers the faces. She knows the truth of what is happening on the ground.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
