Vol. 532 No. 2
23 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department is in a position to monitor the number of qualified teachers at second level who are leaving the profession to pursue alternative career options; and if so, the trends in this regard. [6881/01]
Teachers in second level schools are employed by the authorities of the schools concerned. In the case of secondary, community and comprehensive schools, the relevant school authority notifies my Department of the names of new appointees so that their names can be included in the appropriate teachers payroll.
In the case of vocational teachers, the vocational education committee concerned noti fies my Department of the names of the teachers appointed. However, payment of the teachers is a matter for the VEC.
My Department does not have details of the number of qualified second level teachers who are leaving the profession to pursue other career options. Except in the case of a teacher retiring or a teacher going on approved leave – career break, secondments or study leave – school authorities are not required to indicate why a teacher is vacating his or her position in the school.
If the Department has the facility to track these developments it would be a useful exercise. There is ample anecdotal evidence that a considerable number of teachers are dissatisfied with their career prospects. Many are voting with their feet, particularly science and mathematics graduates, and after a number of years in the classroom, they are pursuing alternative career options. In a couple of years' time, when subject choices are being restricted in schools because of the unavailability of teachers, it will not be as easy to bring in teachers from other parts of the world as it was to bring in nurses from the Philippines. The Minister would do well to take cognisance of this issue in the context of the current dispute with teachers in the ASTI. In that regard, is the Minister amenable to establishing a commission on teaching, similar to the commission on nursing, to look at the broader issues surrounding the profession, career options, promotion opportunities, the length of the pay scale and so on. A commission could put all these issues into the melting pot and come up with solutions to problems that are of concern to many teachers and which are not specifically under the microscope of the Labour Court at present.
I would be happy to have a broad-based commission on education and learning along the lines suggested by Deputy Creed. Nationally it is time we had such an approach. However, I do not want to interfere with the discussions that are going on at the moment, even though I would be quite anxious to move in that direction as soon as it is feasible. I hope we will be able to proceed along those lines in the very near future.
In relation to the future, I do not want to be smug, but last August we advertised 1,000 teaching posts and there were more than 2,000 applications. However, I note what the Deputy says about the future situation.
Information is emerging which indicates a worrying trend among second level teachers in that quite a significant number are leaving the profession. Will the Minister undertake to extract from the payroll sections of the Department and of the vocational education committees details of the number of people who have left the profession, apart from those who have retired?
Before the Minister replies, I will take a brief supplementary question from Deputy Ulick Burke.
Is the Minister aware of the exodus at second level from the teaching profession in the areas of building construction, engineering and woodwork? Is he aware also that vacancies are being filled in a stop-gap fashion by temporary or untrained teachers, a most serious development at that level?
We are in a different era now. There are approximately 767 second level teachers on career breaks for family and other reasons, and there are people filling in on a temporary basis in those cases. Approximately 390 resigned in the year up to July 2000. In relation to the other question Deputy Shortall—
The Minister has figures. He said earlier he did not.
I do not have the figures which were requested. I will see what more can be done along the lines suggested by Deputy Shortall. I do not have the information available at the moment.
The Minister said that 390 resigned.
Yes.
That is the question I asked.
