Principals 'worry' as South Donegal schools record zero new students
Donegal Live speaks to school principals as three South Donegal schools record no Junior Infant students
South Donegal national school principals discussed the worrying ‘trend’ of lower student numbers in smaller, rural schools, after at least three local national schools had zero student uptake in this year’s Junior Infant class.
Cashel National School, located in Glencolmcille, along with Meenaneary National School (10km east of Glencolmcille), and Inver National School all recorded no new students for this year’s Junior Infant class.
The news follows recent announcements of other rural Donegal schools, such as Edeninfagh National School near Glenties, and Fintra National School near Killybegs, of their upcoming or forced closures due to low student numbers.
Principals of Cashel NS, Meenaneary NS, and Inver NS spoke to Donegal Live.
James McHugh, the Principal of Cashel NS, confirmed that this year was the first time since the school opened in the 1960s that there was no Junior Infant intake.
He said: “There are kids due to come to us in the next couple of years. It is a sign of what is happening around the whole western coast of Ireland.
“That people are being drawn to the urban areas and people are not moving back. Two main reasons. One is the whole area of sustainable jobs for most young people who live, and then go to college and get some sort of work at the end of it, whether it is an apprenticeship or other qualifying jobs, and most of the work is in the urban areas.
“The second reason is the planning. Young people find it very difficult to get planning on their own land and area and are put through all sorts of hoops to get planning permission, and most of the time get turned down. What they do is get to urban areas to get a house in the estates. That is what we find around here.”
Daniel Cunningham, the Principal of Meenaneary NS, stated: “We have students coming. I suppose that there is not going to be as many as there used to be, but like all schools, the numbers will be low.
“In all rural parishes, the numbers are going down. That is the trend at the minute and will probably continue.”
The Principal of Inver National School, Wendy Boyd, told Donegal Live that smaller schools being overlooked was not a trend for her school currently, “but may be for the future.”
She said: “I suppose long-term, I would be concerned that, yes, numbers in rural areas are going down and small schools are being overlooked for the larger schools in the town, but it is not a trend at the moment for our school, but may be for the future.
“You see schools closing down, so it is a little bit of a worry when you don’t have an intake, but the following year, we are hoping for three. It is a worry that the trend is going down in smaller schools.”