Primary schools plea for urgent spending increase
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 01 October 2008 01:00
By Seán McCárthaigh
PRIMARY school managers have issued an urgent appeal to the Government to raise spending on their schools amid fears that further financial cutbacks could cause huge damage to the education of future generations.
The management bodies of all Irish primary schools came together yesterday to make a joint appeal for a substantial increase in funding for the sector in the October 14 budget.
The group — which comprises representatives of all school bodies representing religious, multi-denomination and special needs schools as well as gaelscoileanna — warned that primary schools are already suffering from a lack of proper facilities and equipment, especially in the area of IT and sports, as well as services for school children with special needs, due to financial constraints.
There is also widespread overcrowding in classrooms, while rising gas and electricity bills and the introduction of water meters are placing further pressures on school budgets.
It is estimated that the average funding requirement of each primary school in the country is between €25,000 and €30,000.
The primary school bosses complained that capitation grants for primary schools remain about half of that paid to second-level schools, despite Government promises to provide a 100% increase in existing fees. The current capitation grant for primary schools is €178 per pupil compared to €331 for post-primary students.
"Our primary schools are under-funded, under-resourced and under-staffed. Primary schools this year are being forced to depend on an ever-increasing burden of fundraising in order to meet basic costs," said the incoming general secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, Eileen Flynn.
Her predecessor, Monsignor Dan O'Connor, said there was a danger of a three-tier education system being created. "There are wealthy schools where shortfalls can be made up by fundraising; a second group where funds are limited and the schools depend on the parish and a third type where no fundraising at all is possible," he observed.
Paul Rowe, chief executive of the multi-denominational schools organisation, Educate Together, said primary schools needed additional funding of €82m annually to reach parity with the capitation grant level awarded to secondary schools. He claimed such a figure was "not a significant sum" in the context of overall government spending.
"Our primary schools form the foundation upon which the performance of the entire system is based and unless we dramatically increase investment in primary education, Ireland will suffer economically, socially and culturally," he said.
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