Education cutbacks bite as schools prepare for new term

The harsh cutbacks in education made by the government in last October's budget are becoming a reality, as secondary schools in Athlone and Moate prepare to cope with less teachers, larger classes and cuts. According to the latest Department of Education figures, the six local secondary schools are facing a loss of 19 to 22 teaching posts. Any teacher who retired at the end of the 2008/09 school year is not being replaced. The department has allocated five less teachers to St Joseph's Summerhill, the Marist has been allocated four less teachers, the Bower six, St Aloysius four or five, Athlone Community College three or four (included in Westmeath VEC numbers), and Moate seven. However, extra allocations for special needs and resource teachers are expected in the coming weeks. Pupil numbers have increased by a total of 163 for this September in five of the local schools. Meanwhile, extra-curricular activities such as sports and musical performances will be severely curtailed as teachers who accompany students on these trips will have no-one to cover for them because substitute teachers are banned. And it's not just less teachers and overcrowded classrooms that makes this a retrograde year for education. Parents who will have to fork out more cash for every child they send back to school. School bus fees are set to double to €300, while the school books grant, the supplementary grant for Transition Year and also for funding of supplies for classes such as Chemistry and Home Economics have all been cut by the government.