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Wed 04 Apr 2007Overcrowding affects 100,000 Junior Cert pupilsMore than one in seven Junior Certificate students has special needs, learning difficulties or does not speak English as their mother tongue, according to new research.The study, conducted on behalf of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), also found that 64 per cent of third-year students are taught in overcrowded classes of 25 students or more, with 16 per cent taught in classes of 30 students or more.