15th November 2010 - Any Cuts To Primary School Funding Would
- Last Updated: Tuesday, 16 November 2010 15:58
‘Irish Primary Schools will run out of money mid-year if there is any reduction in government funding for the running costs of schools. Parents who have suffered pay cuts or lost their jobs will no longer be able to keep schools afloat’ said Gerry Murphy, Deputy President, Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN). ‘The State has for many years left it up to parents to subsidise supposedly free education on income from which they have already paid tax. It is beyond belief that the government is now actively considering a reduction in the basic funding of schools’ continued Mr Murphy, whose organisation will submit a Pre-Budget Submission on Wednesday 17th November.
Any cut to the capitation grant, which schools use to cover everyday running costs, will see many schools being unable to pay their bills. This will impact most on children from disadvantaged homes. Research covering more than 1,000 schools shows that over 85% are dependent on fundraising and voluntary contributions to make ends meet. This was the reality facing Primary education even before any Government cutbacks.
‘Principals are asking how schools can pay for the increasing costs of heating oil, electricity, insurance as well as water (which is a new charge) when our only source of income is under threat’ continued the IPPN Deputy President. ‘Even the tiniest reduction in funding from the Exchequer in the December budget will certainly push many schools into debt, resulting in a serious dilution of services to children and additional pressures on cash-strapped families’ said Mr Murphy.
Research into school resourcing carried out by a leading international expert, Jim Spinks, Melbourne University, on behalf of IPPN over the last 18 months has revealed that medium-sized schools (100-180 children) which are not designated disadvantaged are spending €23,000 more on average than they receive in direct grants from government. As it stands, Ireland’s spending on education is the 4th lowest of 31 ranked OECD countries with only Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Italy spending less as a percentage of GDP. This research also highlighted that, on average, Principals spent 25% of their time engaged in fundraising, while this increased to 40% in the case of Teaching Principals in schools with 100 to 180 children.
Mr Murphy concluded by saying, ‘Families in disadvantaged areas now have their backs to the wall financially and simply cannot afford to subsidise their local school when they do not have enough money to meet their mortgage or put food on the table’.
ENDS
