Classroom sizes are too big to effectively combat the spread of COVID-19 in our schools, says Workers’ Party representative David Gardiner.

“Currently, the average primary school classroom size in Ireland is 24-25 students, compared to the EU average of 20. Some classrooms are over 30. This creates problems at the best of times, nevermind during a pandemic.”

“Schools cannot be expected to have children socially-distanced effectively with such large classroom sizes. The education given to students will diminish greatly as it stands.”

“The government must be aware of this fact given the uncertainty surrounding back-to-school, it’s the elephant in the room. They must make a serious effort from here on out to reduce the size of classes even post-COVID for the sake of education.”