Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 Feb 2001

Vol. 529 No. 3

Written Answers. - School Staffing

Willie Penrose

Question:

16 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of additional teachers his Department estimates will be required to meet all educational needs over the next five years; and the steps he is taking to reach these targets. [2762/01]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

The accurate projection of the supply and demand for teachers required at primary level is dependent on a range of factors.

The demand for teachers is affected by the number of teaching posts created by the Government; demand for substitute teachers; the number of teachers opting to take career breaks and job-share; the age at which teachers opt to retire on a voluntary basis and a number of secondments approved.

Since taking office this Government has increased demand for teachers generally by creating an extra 1,875 posts to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio and increase support for children with a disability or disadvantage. Under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness this Government has approved the allocation of a further nine hundred posts to be allocated during the lifetime of the programme. The allocation of these posts will create further demand for teaching posts. In addition, the allocation of resource posts on the basis of need will increase the demand in the next five years.

This Government, in the current school year, has implemented a new scheme to enable teaching principals be released from their teaching duties for a certain number of days annually to undertake administrative, leadership and management functions. The introduction of this scheme and the provision of substitute cover to cover for principals availing of the release time has increased the demand for substitute teachers.

Teachers are appointed by boards of management of the individual schools and the boards are responsible for approving career breaks, job-sharing and secondments. Accordingly, the decision of boards to either grant or refuse an application for leave of absence under these schemes will ultimately affect the demand for teachers.

While the demand for the number of teachers has increased arising from the introduction of initiatives to reduce the PTR and allocate additional posts to deal with disadvantage and disabilities, this Government has boosted substantially the supply of trained primary teachers to deal with the additional demand. The intake to the colleges of education for primary teaching in the 1999-2000 academic year was 1,283. This compares with an intake of 500 in 1996-97.

There are 1,000 students enrolled in the first year of the undergraduate training course in the 2000-01 academic year. It is projected that the intake will continue at 1,000 annually for a number of years. However, these projections will be reviewed on an ongoing basis taking account of enrolment trends and changes in demand requirements.

As a response to a shortage in the supply of primary teachers, my Department requested the colleges of education to provide postgraduate courses to enable degree holders to train as primary teachers. The duration of the post graduate full-time course is 18 months. Eligible post primary teachers may apply for this course in the normal way. These courses were provided in the 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000 academic years. A further postgraduate course will commence this month with an intake of 280 students.

Between the 2000 and 2001 academic years it is projected that approximately 1,900 qualified primary teachers will graduate from the colleges of education. This represents a huge increase in the number of trained graduates as compared with 1995 when 291 graduated.

It is projected that 1,280 qualified primary teachers will graduate in 2002. At second level, the Deputy will be aware that an additional 1,000 posts have been created in the current school year. A proportion of these posts have been utilised to facilitate the reduction in the pupil teacher ratio for appointment purposes from 19:1 to 18:1. The balance has been targeted at particular programmes such as the leaving certificate applied, the junior certificate school programme and the stay in school retention initiative. A further 200 posts will be allocated in each of the next two school years in accordance with the provisions of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

These posts, together with the introduction in all second level schools, from September 1999, of enrolment based allocations for remedial teaching and the retention within the system of posts that would otherwise be lost due to falling enrolments, have resulted in the national PTR in the second level sector falling, from just over 16:1 when this Government came into office, to just over 15:1 in the current school year.

The teacher supply and demand issue at second level is very complex. Analyses undertaken by my Department in 1997 indicated that there are regional and subject variations. Schools in certain locations have more difficulties in recruitment while specific subjects, especially Irish, may pose particular difficulties. A further complicating factor is that vacancies in second level schools usually require specific subject combinations.

My Department and the Higher Education Authority have been monitoring the situation carefully. The total number of places on the Higher Diploma in Education course has increased by 25% since 1997-98. Quotas were set aside in 1998 for specific subjects including Irish. The Department and the Higher Education Authority are continuing to review the supply of and demand for second level teachers on an ongoing basis.