Posted online: Mar 8th, 2007

Oversized class sizes must be made an election issue says the Head Teacher of Glenswilly, Liam McGowan.

Mr McGowan said he was delighted by the huge turnout at the INTO lead public meeting held in Letterkenny last Monday.

Over 600 people heard that in line with the rest of Ireland, 82 % of classes in Donegal have more than the recommended ratio of pupils to a teacher, the second worst in Europe.

Mr MrGowan added: “The Government failed in it’s promise to reduce class sizes but if they were to undertake a reduction by just two pupils a year over the next five years this could realistically be achieved.

“I would urge people who make this an election issue and tackle politicians about it when they start knocking on doors canvassing for votes and in the meantime we will continue our campaign.

One concerned parent who was at the meeting said that one of his children started school 11 years ago and entered a class of 30 and that last year he had another child who entered a class of 29, ‘so very little has changed’.

Another parent spoke of his dismay that the politicians seemed only interested in scoring political points when they would be better off concentrating on the needs of the children.

During the recent visit to Donegal by the Minister for Children, Brain Lenihan the Letterkenny Post asked him if the Government had not failed the children, their teachers and their parents by failing to reduce class sizes, many of which contained children with special needs.

He said that the Government made the decision to re-deploy resources into Special Needs education, however he admitted that the current situation was ‘a problem and not acceptable.’