Trevor Sargent

As a former school principal, I have a particular interest in education and the welfare of children. Against a terrible economic backdrop we need to protect them, not just from the necessary cutbacks but also avoid them having to inherit huge debts in the future. Here are some of the facts about Budget 2009 and Education that are not often repeated in the media.

Background

• In advance of the last election the Green Party predicted economic growth of 3.5% while other parties anticipated 5%.
• The Green Party has always prioritised Education with our “50 Steps” policy. (See www.50steps.com). In the negotiations that led to the formation of the current government, we called for an investment of €1bn in the first year.
• The agreed additional investment, detailed in the Programme for Government, was €350. The actual amount in Budget 2009 is €302m.
• The Education budget for 2009 is over €9.6 billion, that’s €302 million more than last year, an increase of 2.7%
• €581 million has also been allocated for the Schools Capital Program
• The Capitation Grant goes up by €21.42 per pupil to €200.
• Enrolment bands will be based on 28 pupils per class rather than the current 27 per class.
• In a recent international study, Ireland was placed 2nd (behind Finland) in terms of Student Achievement. This is reinforced by the September 2007 McKinsey report which concludes that results are not determined by class size, but rather by teaching quality.

Primary Schools

• The increase in class sizes from an average of 1 teacher for 27 pupils to 1 teacher for 28 pupils will affect teacher numbers in about 1 in 10 primary schools next September.
• The change will bring us back to where we were prior to September 2007.

Post-Primary

• Allocation basis changes from a ratio of 18:1 to 19:1 (20:1 in fee-charging schools)
• The effect on individual schools will depend on their choice of the range of subjects they will offer and the fact that class sizes vary per subject

Language Support Posts

• The budget represents a return to the pre-2007 situation, a maximum of 2 such teachers per school. There is scope for flexibility in certain cases.

Special Education

• Capital funding for most special needs schools increased by 30% in 2007
• Budget 2009 gives an additional €40m for special needs teaching
• The Budget provides a 33% increase for psychological services

School Buildings Program

• The current NDP allocates €4.5 billion (over the lifetime of the plan) compared to €2.6 billion in the last NDP.
• €581m has been allocated for 2009. Although slightly lower than last year, this is partially compensated by the expectation of reduced building costs.
• A significant building program will see major projects undertaken across the country, comparable to activity in 2008.

Pupil numbers

• An extra 11,000 pupils are expected to enrol in primary education in September 2009 and an additional 3,000 in post-primary education.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________