Senator Rónán Mullen has called on Minister for Education, Norma Foley, to reverse what he has described as a “discriminatory move against fee-paying schools”.
He further asked that fee-paying secondary schools be allowed to access the Covid-19 re-opening fund on the same basis as schools in the free scheme.
Earlier this month, a Department of Education circular stated that fee-charging schools would not be eligible to receive any of the €375 million that has been allocated to schools to help them enlarge schools, employ extra staff, and pay for all other safety measures.
Shortly after, the Department revised its position and said that fee-paying schools could apply for the funding, but that the decision would be made on a case-by-case basis.
However, Senator Mullen has taken issue with the Department’s lack of “transparency”, and the fact that its approach puts an unacceptable amount of administration on the shoulders of schools already struggling with re-opening safely and on time.
Bullying
“The Department has given school managers – principals and deputy principals – a virtually impossible task. The Minister should keep in mind that giving someone more work than they can reasonably do is one of the definitions of workplace bullying,” Mr Mullen said.
“Children attending fee-charging schools already receive less support from the State for their education. But this is the first time a decision has been taken that could give some schools nothing.”
“Health and safety must be the priority now, not ideological moves on school fees,” Mr Mullen said.