CUTS that will significantly reduce the number of
teachers in schools on the Southside will jeopardise children’s education, it
has been claimed.
School principals in Dublin 8 say the potential loss
of 25 teaching posts in local schools through proposed cuts to the DEIS
(Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) scheme are unfair as the area
has one of the highest proportions of disadvantaged pupils in the country.
Education Minister, Ruairi Quinn (Lab), said recently
that he had not made a final decision about the number of teachers allocated to
any DEIS school until a review of the impact on proposed cuts in teacher
numbers was completed.
He said cuts would still have to be made within the
overall DEIS scheme, although the review would ensure that decisions would be
taken on a case-by-case basis.
Fiona Collins, the principal of the CBS on Francis
Street, is currently acting as a spokesperson for all schools in the area
affected by the proposed cuts.
She said some 10 schools in the area stand to lose 25
teachers between them if the cuts are not reversed. She pointed out that the
area comprises one of the five most socio-economically deprived electoral
divisions in the city.
She revealed that her own school would lose one
teacher but a number of other schools in the area would lose up to five if the
cutbacks were fully implemented.
“We believe schools should be vibrant and energetic
places,
? she said.
“But with these cuts the voices, hopes and futures of these
children will be jeopardised.
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A spokeswoman at the Department of Education said:
“The Minister has announced that the department will prepare a full report
within the next four weeks on DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 primary schools.
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“He will then consider their position in the context
of the staffing allocations due to be issued to all schools in the coming
weeks.
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