MINISTER FOR Education Batt O’Keeffe is to proceed with the closure of more than 100 special classes for children with mild general learning needs, a decision labelled as “shameful’’ by the Irish National Teachers Organisation and the Opposition last night.
Earlier this year, the Minister announced the closure of 128 special classes for children with mild general learning difficulties. More than 40 schools appealed the decision to the Minister. Yesterday, the department confirmed only 10 of the classes will be retained.
The decision will be a heart-breaking one for many parents who have seen their children make significant progress in special classes. Many of these parents – who highlighted their case in a march on the Dáil recently – say their children will struggle to cope in mainstream classes.
Yesterday the INTO strongly criticised a “shameful decision’’ and a minimalist, inadequate response by the Minister to appeals by primary schools against special-class closures.
But Mr O’Keeffe was unrepentant on the issue last night. A spokesman said that having their children included in the mainstream class is the desire of the vast majority of parents.
He also accused the INT0 of having “an each-way bet” on the issue, citing alleged support by the union for the mainstreaming of special needs children in a submission to a department review.
The INTO denied there was any conflict between the union’s welcome for individual provision in the general allocation model and its support for special classes. “Both provide necessary support for special needs children,” said John Carr, the union’s general secretary.
“Parents and professionals should be allowed to select whether a special class or a mainstream class with additional support best meets the needs of individual children.
“This is a case of apples and oranges,” said Mr Carr, “but it is clear that the Minister doesn’t know the difference between the two.”
He said no one was saying one was better than the other. “Both should be available. The only double speak is coming from a Minister who is pretending this is about education when its about saving money,” said Mr Carr.
A ministerial spokesman said: “Article 24.2 of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities states that parties should ensure that ‘effective individualised support measures are provided in environments that maximise academic and social development consistent with the goal of education’.
“That’s precisely what’s happening in over 3,000 primary schools all over the country. In every one of these classes, children with a mild general learning disability are included in ordinary classes with their friends, supported by their class teacher and their learning support teacher who can work with particular children on a one-to-one basis.”
But Mr Carr said that despite the review, hundreds of special needs children in dozens of primary schools will have a vital service withdrawn.
“Most of these children will now be enrolled in ordinary classes again where they were already unable to cope before they were placed in special classes.
“This is a shameful decision where children are being treated not as individuals with real needs but as little more than statistics. The Minister must think again about this indefensible situation.”
The INTO said the Minister’s claim that there will be no pupil with a special educational need who will be without access to a special needs teacher was false.
“Most schools do not have the capacity to provide additional special needs teaching for these children. This is because staffing levels are based on 2003 pupil numbers which have generally gone up since then. A promised review of special needs staffing has not reported yet,” he said.
Labour’s Kathleen Lynch said the decision to close classes will cause untold distress to the hundreds of pupils with mild learning disabilities who benefit from these classes and risks setting back their education irreversibly.
“It seems that the fears of parents and schools that vulnerable children would be the next target of this callous Government were well founded,” she said.
“The decision to spare just 10 classes, previously earmarked for the axe, is cynical tokenism at its worst.’’