Written Answers. - School Staffing.
Róisín Shortall
Question:
172
Ms Shortall
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
his Department's estimates of the shortages in personnel in respect of teachers and remedial teachers in residential centres for children; and the steps he has taken to address these shortages.
[4413/01]
The demand for teachers is affected by factors such as the number of teaching posts created by the Government, the number of teachers availing of early retirement, career breaks and job-sharing, the number of secondments approved, and the level of requirement for substitute teachers.
Since taking office, this Government has increased the 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 900 posts to be allocated during the lifetime of the programme. In addition, the allocation of resource posts to meet specific needs in the next five years will increase the demand for teaching posts
While the demand for teachers has increased arising from Government 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 this additional demand.
The total 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 num ber 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 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 three 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 and demand of second level teachers on an ongoing basis.
My Department is not aware of any specific difficulty in recruiting teachers to the remedial service. In September 1999, the remedial service was extended to all first and second level schools with a PTR of 10:1 or above. Schools with a lower PTR are entitled to make application for remedial support if they can demonstrate a need for such a service.
