Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for affording me the opportunity to bring this matter to the Minister's attention. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh. My question asks the Minister for Education and Science to outline the educational thinking and approach he recommends to ensure two teachers can now effectively teach English based on his revised circular to 154 foreign national children in Scoil Mhuire, Oranmore, County Galway. I contend that is not educationally sound nor is it good practice. As a former teacher and teacher educator, I would not stand over such a practice. I ask the Minister to reverse his decision to withdraw the two teachers who are being lost to the school on foot of the recent circular and make a statement on this matter.

The school I refer to is Scoil Mhuire in Oranmore, which is an all-girls primary school. Currently, 35% of the enrolment this year is of non-national children. It has four teachers teaching English as an additional language to the pupils in the school. Next year, 38% of the school's enrolment will be of non-national pupils and its staffing allocation for English as an additional language has now been cut from four to two.

After the budget last October the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, promised me in committee, and promised the entire educational community, that he would give consideration to schools with a high concentration of non-national pupils. It was only after he made the ruling that all schools would be reduced to two teachers that he realised there were extraordinary circumstances throughout the country with large numbers of foreign national pupils in schools.

The principal stated:

In the current school year we had a total of 134 students requiring English Language Support. We had four EAL teachers who struggled to give that number of children the support they needed.

Next year we will have 154 children requiring English Language Support. The Department of Education and Science has told me that I will now only get sanction for two teachers. The children from 1st class upwards will have received two years support. However, they are not proficient enough in the language to access the curriculum therefore their education is being compromised. The class teacher has to spend so much of class time helping those children that the education of all the other children is also being compromised.

That is the reality and it is a serious charge that will lead to reduced educational outcomes into the future, with teachers not being able to cope with the mix of children in their classes and the multiple nationalities. It will lead to racism in the future. It is an incitement to discontent and, I contend, to racism, which is very serious.

I ask the Minister how two teachers can feasibly provide support for 154 pupils. That is a ratio of 77 pupils per teacher. That is not tenable. There are other Members in this House with educational experience who will support what I am saying. Another question the school has raised is how it will explain to parents come September that the education of their children is being compromised owing to the large number of foreign national children in the class who have no English language support. In standing over this practice, everyone is suffering - the Irish children, the foreign national children and the teachers who will be driven mad by this practice.

Would it be more responsible for the school to refuse to accept these children on the grounds that it cannot cater for their needs? The Education Act states we must meet the educational needs of the pupils. This measure is not meeting their needs.

I ask the Minister of State to advise me on how to advise the school, Scoil Mhuire in Oranmore, with regard to its English as an additional language staffing allocation. How will we improve the school's case to ensure this decision can be reversed? What steps does the school now need to take with the Department of Education and Science to get a result that will benefit both the Irish and the foreign national children? I look forward to the Minister's response.