TD says cuts to over 400 primary schools’ teacher numbers shocking in the midst of a Covid crisis
Demands schools that lost teacher a have cuts reversed
Richard Boyd Barret TD has said the news that 428 primary schools have lost a teacher in the new term flies in the face of Government announcements that extra resources would be available to help them cope with the Covid crisis and reopening.
The TD was responding to the information in a Parliamentary Question from Education Minister Norma Foley TD. In reply to a question from his People Before Profit Party colleague Bríd Smith TD, the Minister revealed that 428 primary schools had suffered a loss of one teacher compared to last year. This commenced in the new term as schools were struggling to reopen in line with new Covid restrictions and regulations.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said today: “These cuts must be reversed immediately. The Minsker says an appeals system is still hearing the case but it is completely ludicrous to reduce staff numbers like this at this time.”
The TD said one school he knew had lost a teacher as a result of a slight decline in pupil numbers from last year, but the result was now class sizes of 35 with children from various years in the same class.
“It’s a physical impossibility to implement Covid regulations with less staff and an impossibility for teachers to teach different years in this environment. The cuts must be reversed immediately.”
