Parents plan mass protest over threat to rural schools

Date Published: 11-Jan-2012

Rural schools across County Galway are mobilising themselves for one of the biggest ever affronts to proposed cuts that would leave dozens of teachers on the dole.

The attack on the two, three and four teacher schools is being strongly resisted in both east and west Galway and last night more than 50 parents and teachers from Connemara voiced their anger to TDs in the Dail.

It has been described by many prominent teachers and local politicians as another assault on rural Ireland as a huge protest meeting is being organised for Ballinasloe on Friday week – it follows the well attended meeting in Oughterard earlier this week.

Figures reveal that 26 of the 41 primary schools located in the Galway Gaeltacht would lose teachers if the new pupil teacher ratios were implemented.

The principals of every primary school in County Galway along with every politician have been invited to a meeting in Ballinasloe being organised by Liz Mulry, who is the principal of Eglish National School in Ahascragh which hit the headlines in recent years because of its rat infested state.

In order to retain a teacher in a two teacher school, there must have been 14 pupils enrolled by last September – this number will increase to 20 by 2013, according to the new measures.

A three teacher school must have 51 pupils enrolled in order to retain their current staffing levels and this figure will increase to 56 by 2013 while a four teacher school must have 81 pupils enrolled to keep their allocation of teachers with this number increasing to 86 next year.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.