Government accused of 'abandoning students' on Cork City's northside

The government has also been accused of 'abandoning students' on the northside of Cork city. 

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Education & Skills Donnchadh O Laoghaire TD, who received information from the minister which showed 390 posts were lost from primary schools this year. File Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Almost 400 teaching posts were lost in primary schools this year during the ongoing pandemic due to ‘falling demographics’. 

Lower than expected student numbers saw 390 posts lost from primary schools this year. At the same time, just over 200 teaching posts were also created to help meet rising demand.

Teaching posts are allocated to schools based on the number of confirmed student enrolments from the previous September. The figures are included in a parliamentary question released to Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin’s spokesman on education.

Minister for Education Norma Foley told Mr Ó Laoghaire that there were also 195 appeals submitted. 

“These included schools that were due to lose a post and schools that sought to gain an additional teaching post based on projected enrolments.” 

A further 14% of these schools were unsuccessful in their appeal, with the main reason being instances where schools had forecasted a larger intake of pupils.

The Department of Education and the appeals board was mindful of the impact of Covid-19, and looked carefully at schools with reduced enrolments so that all decisions are “reasonable and all schools are treated fairly”.

Meanwhile, the Government has been accused of "abandoning students" on the northside of Cork city by a city councillor. 

Labour councillor John Maher had requested that a stay be put on St Patrick's Girls National School for the rest of the year due to the loss of a teacher.  Two classes at the DEIS school are to be merged, going from two classes of 16 students to one class of 32, after the school lost its appeal to keep an additional teaching post. 

“There is no sense from the [the Minister] that the Department appreciates there is a public health emergency on that should halt such a post being cut,” Mr Maher said. 

Separately, a new primary school in Gurranabraher in Cork City due to be established next year has been postponed. The school is among five projects deferred due to a number of factors. These include that the numbers expected haven't materialised, or that there is capacity in existing schools already.