THE Department of Education has come under fire for offering 'home-schooling' grants to the parents of 22 children in one class who are unable to secure places in secondary education.

None of the children in question – who are all from sixth class in the same primary school – were successful in securing a place at St Mary's secondary school in Mullingar. There were 198 applications for just 120 places.

Officials at the department confirmed they had met with concerned families at St Mary's national school in an effort to advise them on the predicament.

But worried parents remain unaware of whether or not their children will now have places in any of the three local schools or have to avail of the home-education system.

Labour criticised the situation, saying that home education is not an acceptable alternative in the absence of classroom space.

Local independent councillor Betty Doran said parents she had spoken to had had no luck in securing places in the town's other two secondary schools. "The parents were angry and confused and they don't know where to turn," she said. "One parent said it takes years for a teacher to get trained so how would a parent do it, especially if the parents are working?"

The Department of Education said educational-welfare officers have been working with parents in an attempt to get them places in schools and advised them that they can appeal their rejected applications to the school's board of management.

At a recent meeting on the situation at St Mary's national school, the educational-welfare officers advised parents "of their right to apply for home tuition should a secondary-school place not be secured for the beginning of the school year 2009/2010".

One parent, who asked not to be identified in case it negatively affected their child's case, told the Sunday Tribune: "I don't want to have home education. They didn't say that that was going to be the way it was going to be; they said that the board might have to put an extra class in CBS in St Mary's but they only gave options.

"There were a few people at the meeting who were getting hot and heavy [as if] telling the officials that it was their fault but they were only telling us what we can do."

Doran, who stressed that the situation was putting considerable pressure on local principals, said it was damning that parents were too afraid to highlight the issue lest it prevent their children from securing a secondary school place. "Imagine how scared the parents must be if they won't go public. That for me is as scary as the situation itself," she said.

The situation was also condemned by Labour's education spokesman Ruairi Quinn.

"Part and parcel of the education system for a 13-year old going into secondary school is the socialisation of teenagers and you can't do that at home," he said.