Fears that axe could fall on over 20 schools

As many as 23 small primary schools in County Meath could be under threat of closure and amalgamation with larger schools as a result of cuts to the education budget unveiled last week. A claim by a Fianna Fail senator that small rural schools, some of them with under 86 pupils, are being "singled out for the axe" is supported by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) in the county which says that some rural communities are losing their garda stations and there are now fears for their schools. Senator Thomas Byrne claimed that small rural schools in County Meath were under direct threat from the government in the wake of the budget. "The education cuts fall on small rural schools under 86 pupils. They are the ones whose pupil-teacher ratio is being increased and to whom the Department advised to 'consider their future'," he claimed. Among the schools, according to the INTO, which could be in a precarious position given that they have less than 86 pupils (according to 2010 figures), are national schools in Kilskyre, Killyon, Drumbaragh, Ughtyneill, Carrickleck, Rathkenny, Clonard, Lobinstown, Clonalvy, Coolronan, Knockcommon, Dunsany, Cushenstown and Kilmainhamwood. Local branches of the INTO are to meet tomorrow (Thursday) in the Education Centre, Navan, to discuss the recent budget decisions regarding the pupil-teacher ratio in small schools and to outline the implications of the decision for local schools, teachers and families. Colin Quigley of the Meath branch of the INTO said the perception was that rural communities had been targeted in the recent budget because of the closure of garda stations and the increased cost of school transport. Mr Quigley said that the school at which he was based had 81 students on the roll and it had four teachers. It had grown from a two-teacher school and was at the heart of the community. "The school, alongside the church and the local GAA club, are the focal points of this rural community, only 10 minutes drive from the centre of Navan. Rural communities have certainly been targeted by this particular budget, when you consider the closing of garda barracks and the increased costs of school transport. "In the longer term, this type of saving will prove more costly than it is worth. It clearly shows the importance of having a voice in the Dáil," he added. The INTO official said he had heard one commentator say these changes were introduced without a whimper largely because most of the Labour Party backbenchers were not rural-based. "These changes in pupil-teacher ratio for smaller schools will mean the loss of 100 jobs in 2012 and 250 over the next three years," he said. "I heard Michael Noonan speak of incentive schemes which he was hoping to introduce in the budget to increase productivity in the farming sector, encourage people to return to working the land. At the same time, his measures to close small schools will undermine his attempt at reform of the farming sector. "In my school, we will return to the situation which we had only two years ago, when three teachers were charged with eight classes. At this present time, two classes are taught in the one room - a much more manageable and effective system. With the introduction of these ratios, we are in danger of returning to the situation which existed up to two years ago, when each teacher has three different class groups to teach," said Mr Quigley. He said it was also hugely ironic that at a time when the Taoiseach and Tánaiste speak of a budget that would promote job creation, they are introducing measures which will guarantee the loss of teaching posts. With a decrease in the capitation grant, rise in school transport costs, heating and energy alongside the phased change to the pupil-teacher ratio for schools with less than 100 pupils, this will inevitably mean that for many schools and parents the so-called annual 'voluntary contribution' which schools rely on will also increase, he added.