Statistical Report 1935-1936 - Department of Education and Skills

2Under the scheme and the revised regulations, diocesan or other'approved panels will be established on which the names of AssistantTeachers, Lay Assistant Teachers and Junior Assistant Mistresseswill be placed from the date on which grants would cease to be payabletothem, under the superseded regulations, and they will be continuedin their schools and paid salary in the capacity in which they are servinguntil they are offered suitable alternative positions in other nationalschools. An opportunity to secure suitable appointments will also beafforded, in connection with the first panels, to Assistant Teachers, LayAssistant Teachers and Junior Assistant Mistresses, who lost theirpositions, and Assistant Teachers who were reduced to the status ofJunior Assistant Mistresses, in recent years.Under the regulations hitherto in force, a reduction in the salary ofthe Principal Teacher would in certain circumstances result, should theschool in which he was serving fall from one category of averageattendance to a lower category, e.g., if a school in the category ofaverage attendance of, say, 50 to 119 units, should fall to the categoryof schools with an average attendance of 30 to 49 units. Under thenew regulations the principal teachers' salary in such a contingencywill not be reduced. Principal teachers recogriised in schools on thedate on which the schools fall into a lower category of average attendanceretain, during the further period of their service as PrincipalTeachers in these schools, the salaries of which they are in receipton that date. If their salaries are less than the max-imum appropriateto the lower category they may be allowed to proceed, on the scalesof which they were in receipt, to a point not in excess of the maximumof the lower category.The appointment average for a second Assistant Teacher is reducedfrom 95 to 85 units and the retaining average from 85 to 80 units.The revised regulations take effect as from the 1st January, 1937.This scheme revolutionises the conditions of teachers' service and,in giving them security of tenure, removes the anxiety for the futurewhich teachers in schools with precarious conditions of average attendancehave hitherto felt. It is an epoch-making event in the history ofPrimary Education, marking the beginning of a period of securityand contentment for teachers and must have very beneficial educationalresults.Another feature of the year's work has been the issue of a valuablereport on the work and administration of the Reformatory andIndustrial Schools by the Commission set up in 1934 to inquire intothe system. The Commission, which completed its labours in August,1936, conducted its enquiry in a very thorough manner, and presenteda Report which should be of great assistance in dealing with the'important social problems involved in its investigations. The recommendationsmade by the Commission are receiving the considerationof the Department.CHAPTER I.PRIMARY EDUCATION ..I. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.The School Attendance Act came into operation generally throughoutthe Saorstat as from the 1st January, 1927. The following tableshows the statistics of all children on rolls and in average attendancefor each year since 1926-7 inclusive:-Average No. Average Percentage ofYear ended on Rolls Attendance Attendance30th June, 1927 .. 518,355 413,159 79.7" 1928 " 512,333 423,974 82.71929 .. 507,840 419,780 82.6" 1930 .. 504,427 420,941 83.41931 " 502,393 416,723 82.91932 .. 503,017 417,017 82.91933 " 504,521 422,489 83.71934 " 502,661 422,266 84.01935 .. 492,893 413,262 83.81936 .. 484,601 404,657 83.5The corresponding figures for children to whom the School AttendanceAct applies were as follows :-*Average No. Average Percentage ofYear ended. on Rolls Attendance Attendance30th June, 1929 . . 422,073 353,582 83.7,,1930 " 421,142 355,607 84.41931 . . 420,311 353,819 84.1,,1932 " 421,783 354,742 84.1"1933 . . 422,739 358,074 84.71934 . . 420,494 357,918 85.1,,1935 . . 416,252 353,107 84.8" ,,1936. . 409,596 345,485 84.3The Statistics of the attendance for the School year 1935--6 showthat on the whole the Act has operated effectively during the year.It will be observed that there was a slight decrease, 0.3 in the percentageattendance of all pupils and 0.5 in the percentage of pupils(6-14 years of age) to whom the Act applies-as compared with thecorresponding figures for the previous year. The attendance of children,however, was affected considerably by the very severe weather,snow storm, frost, etc., in the quarter ended 31st March, 1936.For the school year 1935--6 Cork City attained the highest percentageattendance (89) of children, to whom the Act applied, in any Countyor Borough. The next places were occupied in descending order, byWaterford City with 86.4, Dublin City with 85.9, County Cork andCounty Waterford with 85.8, and County Kilkenny with 85.5. In* Statistics jar children between 6 and 14 years oj age are not availablejar any year prior to 1928/9.3