John Bruton
Question:327 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education the current average pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools; and the cost of reducing this by one.
Vol. 397 No. 9
327 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education the current average pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools; and the cost of reducing this by one.
328 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education the current maximum allowable number of students per class teacher in primary schools; and the cost of reducing this maximum by one.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 327 and 328 together. The maximum allowable number of students per class teacher in primary schools is 39 in the case of a single grade class group; 38 in the case of a class group with two consecutive grades; and 35 in the case of a multi-grade class group.
The school authorities and in particular the principal teacher are responsible for the arrangement of classes to ensure that these numbers are not exceeded in any class group.
The current average pupil-teacher ratio in national schools, based on the enrolments in September 1989 and the number of teachers currently employed is 27:1.