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Department of Education and Skills publishes key annual statistics for 2013/14 academic year

June 30, 2014

Despite huge growth in school going population, pupil teacher ratio is maintained

The Department of Education and Skills is publishing its key statistics for the 2013/14 academic year today.

This document outlines the numbers of students attending primary and post-primary school, the pupil teacher ratios, number of schools and teachers as well as a county by county breakdown of student and classroom numbers.

It shows that the number of children attending primary school has increased by 9,895 at primary level and 4,331 at post-primary (excluding PLCs). Despite these massive rises, pupil teacher ratios at primary school have dropped slightly from 16.4 to 16.3, while they have remained constant at second level at 13.9.

Welcoming the publication, Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D. said, “We have a growing population of young people in this country and despite the difficult financial circumstances we face as a country, we prioritised education so that the number of teachers we have in the system has also grown in order to protect pupil teacher ratios.”

“There are a thousand more teachers employed in schools around the country this school year, than there was the year before. While there has been a moratorium on recruitment across other sectors in the public service, this has not applied to teaching and shows the commitment this Government has to educating our future generations.”

The total number of primary schools is now at 3,286 which is down 7 on last year. This decrease is a combination of the establishment of 16 new schools, mainly in areas of growing population, and the closure or amalgamation of 23 schools. The average class size in primary schools has remained relatively unchanged at 24.8.

There are now 1,351 primary schools with less than 100 pupils, with 600 of these having fewer than 50.

There are now 723 second-level schools, up two on last year. Half of these schools have more than 500 pupils, although there are some 15 second level schools with less than 100 pupils.

The total number of full-time students in education institutions funded by the Department of Education and Skills is now at its highest level yet, at more than 1 million. This includes those from primary school to third level[1], including PLC colleges.

The key statistics document can be found at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Key-Statistics/

The publication date has been significantly improved this year, as previously the data was published in September.

www.education.ie