Kildare pupils 'will have no place' when they start school in August
CRISIS: Parents are being asked to contact the two Kildare-based government ministers
A group of primary pupils are without a school place in Naas because of a teacher shortage.
Despite much commentary about ultra-healthy tax receipts and overspending on multiple government projects, a group of 25 junior infants pupils due to enrol in St Corban’s Boys National School in Naas have no teacher.
Parents are being asked to contact both government ministers in Kildare - Sallins resident James Lawless and Martin Heydon, who represent the Kildare North and Kildare South constituencies respectively as TDs.
According to the school a "junior infant places crisis” developed earlier this year which meant 20-30 children would not have a place for next year.
The Department of Education asked the school to enrol an extra junior infants class (three instead of two) to solve this. Some 25 additional children were enrolled “as requested” but the school says the department is “refusing to allocate a teacher for the extra JI class.”
In a letter to parents, principal teacher John Drewett said this is “ very unfair and disadvantages the children currently enrolled in capacity issue.”
He added: “It punishes us for helping the department. They created this extra class and these exceptional circumstances and now they will not supply the extra teacher.”
On behalf of the board of management he said if the extra teacher fails to arrive there can be no extra JI class and 25 children will be without a place when the school reopens on August 26 next.
Alternatively a first class teacher can be assigned to cover the extra JI class - but this will mean amalgamating the two existing senior infant classes (the two smallest in the school) “into a huge class of 34 children.”
“This ( would disadvantage) these children for the remainder of their education (six years) in a class way above the department's pupil teacher ratio of 23:1. They are punishing us for agreeing to help the Department by taking on the extra JI class which the Department requested.“
Mr Drewett added this is not fair and the solution is “for the department to accept this is an exceptional circumstance and allocate an extra teacher to the extra class that they created.”.
He said the school has been communicating with the department for weeks to no avail and Deputy Lawless “has failed to resolve the issue.”
The school is urging parents to contact local TDs and the Department highlighting the need for the extra teacher.
“They have not listened to us. Hopefully they will listen to our parents,” added Mr Drewett.