Huge increase in primary school pupils predicted for Edenderry

Primary school enrolment numbers are set to skyrocket in north Offaly with figures predicting that schools in Edenderry will need between 25 and 32 new classrooms by the year 2015, with a possibility that 900 student places could be needed. However teachers" unions fear that the Government will not be able to afford to pay out for new school buildings, which will lead to overcrowding and integration issues. If the higher number of 32 new classrooms are needed and they held an average of 28 pupils, then there could increase of around 896 pupils attending Edenderry schools. The projected pupil numbers were published this week and come from a combination of statistics from the Department of Education, the Geographical Information System and data from the Central Statistics Office and other departments. John Carr, general secretary of the INTO, said urgent action was needed to avert an overcrowding crisis. He called on the Government to speed up the delivery of new school buildings and streamline procedures. The INTO president Declan Kelleher said the current overcrowding problem would only get worse, as the Department has changed the formula for allocating staff from this September. According to the Department of Education"s national estimates for the school year 2014/15, there could be an increase of almost 67,000 new pupils that year compared to this year. The explosion in pupil numbers is due to a raising birth rate. The range of projections on enrolment are based on four possible scenarios, as published by the CSO. 'It is highly probable that total enrolment at primary level will reach the 500,000 mark this autumn (2008/2009). It should be noted that there was an exceptionally high figure for births recorded in 2007, which has consequences for enrolment in junior infant classes in 2011. A likely scenario is a continuing high level of births and a significant reduction in inward migration. Under this particular combination of assumptions enrolment at primary level would grow by approximately 56,000 over the next 5 years (from 2007/08 to 2012/13),' said the Departmental report, which was prepared by the Forward Planning Section.