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Chaos in Inishowen schools
12.01.10
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
CHAOS reigned around the schools of Inishowen
yesterday as teachers, parents and pupils struggled
to find out if they were due back in class today.
The disarray followed Minister for Education Batt
O’Keeffe’s lunchtime reversal of a decision he made
last Friday to close all 4,000 schools in the
country.
The Minister said yesterday schools in a position to
open should do so after last week telling them to
stay closed until Thursday because of the cold
weather.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent yesterday,
Scoil Mhuire Buncrana principal, Liam Rainey, said
he was surprised by Minister O’Keeffe’s call. |
“His decision came out
of the blue, normally these matters are left with
the principals and boards of management,” he said.
“It is much more appropriate to use local knowledge.
What is the sense of having boards of management if
they are not allowed to manage?”
Mr. Rainey said that the exceptional weather had
given O’Keeffe a ‘get-out clause’ but that his
actions had caused widespread confusion.
“It is a regrettable situation. I don’t think he
[O’Keeffe] will be getting involved in something
like this again,” he said. |
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The Scoil Mhuire
principal said that his school would re-open
tomorrow because the grounds were still icy in
patches and to give people time to ‘re-adjust’.
Scoil Mhuire sub teacher, Fiona McLaughlin, was
seriously injured after her car skidded on ice last
month.
Moville Community College principal, Anthony Doogan,
welcomed Minister O’Keeffe’s change of heart and
immediately decided to open the Foyleside secondary
school.
“I am glad the Minister has allowed us to use local
intelligence. It was tough for him to make a u-turn
but it was the right decision,” he said.
“If I were in his position I would have made the
same decision on Friday because the predicted
weather conditions were much worse than they
turned.”
Mr. Doogan said he had taken the decision to open
the school this morning because the thaw was
completed in the Moville area.
“I am not aware of any conditions that preclude
students from coming to school and we do not want to
lose any more tuition days,” he said.
Paul Fiorentini, Principal of Carndonagh Community
School, said he would re-open tomorrow morning after
consulting with the board of management, staff and
bus companies.
“The best advice we got was to open on Wednesday to
see if the thaw kicks in fully. Some areas remain
problematic,” he said.
“This has been a very difficult time. Boards are
being asked to become weather forecasters. We have
not taken this decision lightly.”
Principal of Moyle National School, Pauline Edwards,
said she was put in a very difficult position.
“It is never easy knowing what to do; the change in
weather has been dramatic and rapid,” she said.
“Minister O’Keeffe’s call on Friday was a great
relief but the u-turn has thrown us back into
confusion.”
“We have decided to open tomorrow to give more time
for compacted ice to clear.”
Mrs. Edwards said that parents have had to be
extremely patient in what was a very ‘frustrating’
time for them.
Patrick McLaughlin, acting principal of Scoil Eoghan
in Moville, said that the safety of pupils and
teachers was paramount.
“We will open the school at the first available
opportunity and we will continue to monitor the
situation very closely,” he said. |
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