After more than two decades of growing enrolments in primary schools, pupil numbers are on course to decline sharply over the coming 15 years. The steep decline in pupil numbers risks leading to surplus numbers of teachers and could threaten the future of many small schools. Ironically, one of the biggest challenges in other primary schools are overcrowded classrooms. At a minimum, falling enrolments provide a chance to - finally - reduce class sizes by simply retaining the overall number of teachers employed in the primary school system. Proper levels of investment could, finally, make primary education genuinely free.

Source: The Irish Times November 16, 2020 00:00 UTC