Most fee-charging schools received millions in extra Covid-19 funding

Fifty of the 51 private schools in the State were approved for more than €6 million in Covid-19 funding for measures such as additional cleaning, personal protective equipment (PPE) and capital costs.

This was despite a controversial Department of Education move which initially excluded fee-charging schools from access to such funding.

These schools were later permitted to join on a case-by-case basis after they protested that they were being unfairly excluded from receiving assistance to counter the threat of Covid-19.

Principals of fee-charging school argued at the time that many of their schools needed State assistance to implement expensive safety measures such social distancing and supervision and rejected suggestions that they had large cash reserves available.

Records obtained by The Irish Times show fee charging schools received a combined €6.5 million in grant aid and capitation supports to meet costs relating to the pandemic.

This was in addition to the estimated €110 million or more in State funding received each academic year in the form of salaries for teachers and special needs assistants.

A breakdown of Covid-19 funding shows that 50 fee-charging schools applied for and successfully received money for cleaning, PPE or enhanced supervision supports.

In addition, 17 fee-charging schools were also approved for emergency works grants worth just under €500,000.

The department said all applications for Covid funding from fee-charging schools were considered on a case-by-case basis. It said those schools differed from others due to their capacity to raise funds through fees, while also being in receipt of State funding.

“Therefore, all applications received were considered on a case-by-case basis. As the department does not provide capitation funding to fee-charging schools, the applications were examined in the first instance in order to determine if it was possible to meet schools’ needs though existing arrangements such as staffing or capital funding. It was only if there was no other solution that payment of Covid capitation grants was made ...” records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act state.

“Any school that qualified for funding following this process was automatically paid subsequent instalments.”

[ Multidenominational primary schools more likely to be oversubscribed than Catholic ]

Energy costs

Further controversy has arisen in recent months due, again, to the exclusion of fee-charging schools from automatic access to emergency State funding aimed at cushioning the impact of soaring energy costs.

The Government announced a “once-off” €90 million fund — or a 40 per cent increase in capitation — last September to help schools meet higher heating and electricity bills.

The department argued, in a similar vein, that private schools had access to financial reserves which other schools do not.

However, principals in the fee-charging sector argue that this is the latest in a series of policy decisions to provide lower levels of funding to private schools which began in 2009.

While teachers are provided by the State at a rate of one teacher for every 19 pupils, it rises to one teacher for every 23 pupils in the fee-charging sector. They also receive reduced guidance and counselling allocations and are ineligible for a range of capital grants.

Most of the fee-charging secondary schools in the State say they had to increase their tuition charges by anywhere between 5 and 15 per cent this year and some warn that much bigger hikes are due next year.