Vol. 511 No. 6
411 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will report on the harmful effects on students of constant staff changes caused by the non-performance of eligible part-time teacher contracts; and if he will make a statement on when these contracts will be converted to equivalent whole-time positions. [25388/99]
The Deputy will appreciate that schools require flexibility in relation to the utilisation of teaching resources so as to best meet the requirements of their students and the changing curricular needs in their schools. The use of a proportion of the approved teacher allocation in the employment of temporary and part-time teachers allows for such flexibility.
Certain staff changes are unavoidable. However, I accept that it is in the best interests of pupils that staff changes are kept to a minimum particularly during the course of an academic year.
It is a matter in the first instance for the authorities of the school concerned to decide whether a particular post should be filled in a permanent, temporary, eligible part-time or part-time capacity. In arriving at their decision, the school authorities must have regard to the needs of the school, the reason for the vacancy and any limits that apply in relation to the number of permanent staff employed.
