Parents from a school in Castlegregory, Co Kerry, picketed the INTO Congress yesterday morning in an effort to draw the attention of the Minister for Education to their school's plight, writes John Connolly
By JOHN CONNOLLY
The 120-pupil Aughcashla school needs new classrooms, new toilets and a refurbishment of the 101-year-old school building, parents said yesterday. The school still has an outdoor toilet without hand basins and the nearest sink is, in the main school building, 160 feet away. The school was last refurbished in 1987.
Ms Breathnach said that her department was just completing its three-month review of the 1997 building programme and said the school "could have confidence" its case would be dealt with.
The parents' picket coincided with the discussion by INTO delegates of the inadequacy of funding at primary level.
The lack of funding in primary schools is seriously affecting the quality of primary education in our schools," Mr Tony Bates, the vice-president of the INTO, told congress. He said that INTO statistics had revealed that "teachers and parents are keeping the primary school system afloat".
Last year, a survey of funding by the INTO revealed that 81 per cent of schools were forced to raise funds to provide essential services and that in almost half of all schools the capitation grant was insufficient to cover the basic costs of heat, light and insurance. More than half of all schools did not have secretarial or caretaker support. "These are impossible circumstances for us to work with" said Mr Bates.
Mr Clifford Brown, West Liffey branch, said the conditions reminded him of Oliver Twist.
"It has been a very gruelling time for the schools of this country and it is going to continue," he said, describing a motion calling for a funding campaign over three years as "insipid and weak".
Delegates accused the Department of Education of being in breach of the PCW agreement by not providing support for the employment of secretaries and caretakers in schools with over 100 pupils. Congress supported a funding campaign and mandated the executive committee to negotiate a substantial increase in capitation and equipment grants to primary schools, as well as the employment of ancillary staff.
During discussions on the Education Bill, the INTO General Secretary, Mr Joe O'Toole, asked delegates not to reject the proposals for regionalisation out of hand. "Any change in the administration of education could not make it any worse than it is at the moment," he said, but he warned that any changes would need to be supported by proper resourcing. "They can go and scratch if they think they can bring in change without resources," he told delegates.
Congress voted in favour of measures to ensure that no changes were made to existing inspection procedures without the INTO's agreement, with Mr Terry Malone of the executive describing proposed changes as "a failed import" from another country.
The lack of commitment to providing adequate support for the integration of children with special needs was singled out for particular criticism by delegates. Mr Finbarr O'Driscoll, Dublin South County, said that there was no clear national policy on integration and that "for the special needs child, physical presence in the classroom is not enough". Assistance, increased capitation, proper weighting, in-service training and adequate planning were all necessary.
"We want to integrate children with special needs but we want to do it properly," Ms Mary Enright, Dublin City North, told delegates. But Ms Olive Hogan, Dublin South County, warned delegates of the danger of turning the issue into a "battleground" between parents and teachers.