asked the Minister for Education his policy regarding the provision of remedial teachers for slow learning children and, in particular, in relation to rural districts.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Remedial Teaching Facilities.
42.
The position with regard to remedial teaching facilities for primary school children is that there are at present 230 full-time teachers recognised for this work in primary schools throughout the country. It is proposed to create another 106 full-time posts in primary schools in the coming school year. These posts are being allocated to the schools where the greatest need is arising, whether these schools be located in urban or rural districts. The situation is reviewed from year to year.
Apart from these full-time posts remedial teaching is organised in a number of schools on a part-time basis where teachers are free from ordinary class duties for certain periods during the day. In addition, Saturday morning schemes have been set up on a pilot basis in Counties Cavan, Monaghan and Meath to cater for primary school children from rural areas who have not full-time remedial teaching schemes available to them. These schemes will be extended by degrees to other areas of the country.
At secondary level, my Department has organised a programme of in-service training in remedial teaching for secondary teachers. The first course in this programme was given in the autumn term of the 1971-72 school year. Some 154 teachers have attended such courses since then and are at present engaged in remedial teaching in their schools. It is intended that this type of in-service training will continue as a regular feature of the programme to assist under-achieving and less able pupils. Nominations for places on the course are invited from the conductors of all secondary schools and my Department while taking cognisance of varying needs, does not discriminate as between rural and urban schools in the selection of teachers for the courses.
As in the case of the primary schools, the suitability and adequacy of the provision for remedial education at secondary level is under continuous review.
43.
asked the Minister for Education the number of remedial or special class teachers who qualify each year.
Generally speaking, all fully qualified national school teachers are eligible to undertake remedial teaching in national schools.
Special additional training for this work is now being provided for 100 national school teachers annually at centres in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. A special summer course for teachers from the western counties is being organised in Galway in July. A small number of teachers from special classes attend the special course leading to the Diploma in Special Education in St. Patrick's Training College each year.
Some 79 secondary teachers are undergoing special training in remedial work during the current school year.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary give any information regarding the general body of existing teachers and their capacity to recognise pupils who are in need of special attention? I am thinking of things like dyslexia and so on. It seems that the figure the Minister has quoted of some 79 is marginal in the extreme. Has he any plan to train the general body of existing teachers?
I disagree fundamentally with what the Deputy has said in stating that what we are doing is marginal. In the last year I am satisfied to have been able to double the output of trained remedial teachers and increase by 50 per cent the number of posts for remedial teachers in primary schools. I think this is a very good record.
As regards recognition of these problems, as the Deputy is aware, primary teachers will in future undergo a three-year course which will enable them, perhaps, to recognise with even greater acuity than previously problems such as those referred to by the Deputy.
I appreciate what the Parliamentary Secretary is attempting. It is a very new area and nobody expects him to achieve miracles overnight, but would he give some consideration to the question of training the existing body of teachers, apart from new teachers coming in— teachers who are already there—and provide some way of instructing them in the capacity to recognise these needs?
Let me point out that the courses for remedial teachers are for existing teachers who become specialised in remedial teaching but I take the Deputy's point in regard to increasing the general awareness of the overall teaching profession and I shall consult with other Departments to see if any more can be done in that regard.