Archive News
Schools in desperate drive for pupils to prevent teacher job losses
Date Published: 21-Mar-2012
Fears that changes to the pupil/teacher ratio will decimate staffing levels in at least nine rural schools across the county have led to an unprecedented recruitment drive aimed at four year olds, ahead of the next school year.
Nine of the county’s smaller primary schools are otherwise set to be short a teacher from next September, and some schools have begun a recruitment drive in a bid to maintain numbers and, thus, staff levels. From September, the number of pupils required to keep three teachers in a school is set to rise from 49 to 55.
With dozens of teachers taking retirement packages last month, schools throughout the county are also set to miss out on a huge level of experience at both primary and secondary levels – although retiring secondary teachers will be allowed to stay on until May if they are in charge of Leaving Certificate classes.
An indication of the numbers who are leaving the profession comes with confirmation that a function for 32 retiring people in Galway city and the surrounding areas is set to take place this Friday – the corresponding figure for the same function last year was 17.
“Anybody who took the retirement package had to leave by February 29, which is not an ideal time of year for teachers to retire,” said Michael Gallagher of the INTO yesterday.
Although many of the retiring teachers will be replaced, there are concerns for the future of smaller schools in rural areas where staff numbers are set to decrease due to planned changes to the pupil-teacher ratio.
Nine primary schools in the county have been identified as being under the threat of losing a teacher – and the INTO are reluctant to confirm the identities of these schools out of fear that parents may opt to send their children elsewhere.
Nationally, 1,050 primary teachers are expected to retire by the end of the current school year and, while many of these will be replaced, changes to the ratio have increased fears regarding the futures of some small rural schools.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.