Attempts to combat large class sizes in Ireland may include teachers being assigned to schools faster than they are at present.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn noted this fast-tracking approach is a possibility as the Department of Education tries to bring an end to the practice of having high numbers of children - sometimes as many as 35 - in the classroom, the Irish Examiner reports.

Teachers are allocated for every 28 pupils in each primary school, but the current system has resulted in many schools having class sizes of more than 30 children. Mr Quinn has described this setup - which sees allocations based on pupil numbers from the previous year - as outdated.

Next year, Mr Quinn intends to keep the pupil to teacher ratio at 28:1 in primary and 19:1 at second-level schools, but plans to address the problem include attempts to identify areas where a dramatic increase in enrolments may be on the cards.

He said: "If a school can indicate that they're going to have a problem with a massive increase, relatively speaking, then we'll try and make sure that they have a teacher allocated sooner."

Written by Donal Walsh

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