Géarchéim Oideachais Speisialta i gConamara

Tá ollchruinniú á eagrú i gConamara ar an 10ú Lúnasa le plé a dhéanamh ar an ngéarchéim atá ann de bharr an leagan amach nua atá ar sholáthar seirbhísí oideachais speisialta sna bunscoileanna.

Special Education Crisis in Connemara

A Public Meeting will be held in Connemara on the 10th August to discuss the crisis that is looming because of changes in the delivery of Special Needs Education in primary schools. It is being organised by the 'Feachtas Oideachas Speisialta' (Special Education Campaign) and they are inviting the Minister for Education and the Minister of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Public representatives from Galway, representatives from the Department of Education, community groups, parents and others who are concerned by the way that the Department of Education is forcing the arrangements for children with special learning requirements on schools in Connemara without consultation or clarification. The meeting will take place in Scoil Sailearna in Inverin at 9 o'clock on Wednesday 10th of August.
The teachers who have been doing this work up to now have years of service behind them. We are very concerned that experience will be lost if those teachers are reassigned and that the children who are dependent on the service will be the ones who lose out in all the changes.
It appears that Connemara is not the only area having difficulties with the new system as people from all over the country have contacted the campaign to voice their concerns.
Our fear is that children in Connemara with Special Needs, will not get the service they deserve because of these changes. We feel that this will have a knock on effect on all the other students in the schools and consequently on the parents and teachers. We have made exhaustive efforts to contact officials from the Department of Education to discuss our concerns with them and have failed. We then approached the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs to intervene on our behalf and up to now his efforts have been to little effect.
Our main concern is that if it cannot be clearly shown that the new arrangements are significantly better than the previous system we want things to be left as they are for the next school year, until a system can be devised which is acceptable to all involved. We want a meeting, in Connemara, with a Senior Official from the Department of Education, to clarify the proposed arrangements as soon as possible. This is a matter of great urgency as the new school year is looming and the schools aren't clear as to where they stand. On top of that, the teachers who have been doing this work up to now are being offered different contracts and they will be lost to the area if we do not have immediate action.
We are organising the Public Meeting in Connemara on the 10th August to draw peoples attention to the proposed changes. We would love to be able to put them at esae at the meeting that the new system is satisfactory. For that to happen, we need to have had intensive consultation with the Department of Education in advance.
More information about the meeting is available by calling 091-551922.

Ends

Is iad an Feachtas Oideachas Speisialta atá ag eagrú an chruinnithe agus tá cuireadh dhá thabhairt don Aire Oideachais an tAire Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe & Gaeltachta, na h-ionadaithe poiblí as Gaillimh, ionadaithe ón Roinn Oideachais, grúpaí pobail, tuismitheoirí agus aon duine eile atá imníoch faoin gcaoi a bhfuiltear ag brú na socruithe do dhaltaí le riachtanais speisialta anuas ar scoileanna i gConamara gan plé agus gan soiléiriú leis na scoileanna. Tá an cruinniú le bheith ar siúl i Scoil Sailearna in Indreabhán ag a naoi a chlog ar an 10ú Lúnasa.

Tá go leor taithí agus saineolas ag na múinteoirí atá ag dul don obair seo le blianta anuas. Tá an-imni orainn go mbeidh an scil sin caillte má imíonn na múinteoirí sin uainn agus gurb iad na páistí atá ag brath orthu a bhéas ag fulaingt dá bharr.

Is cosúil nach i gConamara amháin atá mí-shuaimhneas faoi na socruithe nua mar go bhfuil daoine taréis teacht i dteangbháil ó cheann ceann na tíre ag clabhsán futhú.

Tá imní orainne nach mbeidh seirbhís ceart á sholáthar do dhaltaí le riachtanais speisialta i gConamara de bharr na h-athruithe seo. Tá muid den tuairim go mbeidh na daltaí ar fad sna scoileanna anseo, na tuismitheoirí agus na múinteoirí thíos leis. Rinne na scoileanna go leor iarrachtaí na h-athruithe seo a phlé le feidhmeannaigh na Roinne Oideachais agus theip orthu freagraí agus soiléiriú a fháil. Ansin d'iarr muid ar an Aire Gnóthaí Pobail Tuaithe & Gaeltachta eadrascáin a dhéanamh ar ár son. Rinne sé sin, ach is beag toradh a bhí ar na h-iarrachtaí sin go dtí seo.

An bun éileamh atá againn ná munar féidir a léiriú go soiléir go bhfuil an córas nua a dhul ag cur feabhas ar chúrsaí seachas mar a bhí, go bhfuil muid ag iarraidh fanacht leis an seanchóras go ceann bliana le gur féidir teacht ar leagan amach a bhéas sásúil do chuile dhuine. Tá muid ag iarraidh go dtiocfadh feidhmeannach sinsearach ón Roinn Oideachais go Conamara leis an scéal seo a shoiléiriú chomh luath agus is féidir. Tá práinn leis seo mar go bhfuil tús na scoilbhliana nua ag teannadh linn go tapaidh agus ní thuigeann na scoileanna cá seasann siad. Freisin, tá brú á chur ar na múinteoirí atá ag déanamh na h-oibre seo le blianta glacadh le conraí eile agus beidh siad imithe uainn muna ndéanfar rud éigin go luath.

Tá muid ag eagrú ollchruinniú poiblí i gCois Fharraige i gConamara ar an 10ú Lúnasa le áird an phobail a tharraingt ar an ábhar seo. Ba bhreá linn a bheith in ann iad a chur ar a suaimhneas ag an bpoinnte sin, go bhfuil an córas nua feiliúnach agus sásúil. Chuige sin ní mhór go mbeadh an scéal seo pléite go mion linn ag feidhmeannaigh na Roinne Oideachais.

Is féidir tuilleadh eolais a fháil faoin gcruinniú ach glaoch ar 091-551922.

Críoch

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh
Bainisteoir
Comhairle Ceantar na nOileán
Tír an Fhia, Leitir Móir, Co. na Gaillimhe
Fón: 091-551922 Faics: 091-551921
Fón póca: 087-9110672
Ríomhphost: ceantarnanoilean@eircom.net
www.cnnoilean.ie