Written Answers. - Teaching Qualifications.
Pat Rabbitte
Question:
387
Mr. Rabbitte
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the number of teachers who have trained outside the State in order to be fully recognised primary teachers here; the number of persons who sat this examination at the most recent sitting; the number who passed the examination at that sitting; the number of years, or attempts, a teacher is allowed in order to pass the examination while teaching in a primary school; if his attention has been drawn to the serious concerns that this examination is set at an unreasonably high standard; his views on the need to review this examination in the light of the serious shortage of qualified teachers at primary level; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30498/01]
Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods): Since the introduction of the scheme of provisional recognition in 1996, my Department has received approximately 2,100 applications for recognition from teachers who obtained their teaching qualifications outside the state.
At the most recent sitting of the examination in October 2001 the number of candidates who presented for examination was 138 and of this number, 49 were successful in completing their examination as a whole (i.e. passed the last of their four modules). With effect from October, 1999 candidates were allowed to take the scrúdú le haghaidh cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge, SCG, in four modules in order to facilitate candidates who wished to do so to attempt modules separately at different sittings. Candidates who pass in any one module of the examination are exempt from that module for a period not exceeding five years.
Provisional recognition is granted to teachers for a five year period and the examinations are held twice a year, thus affording teachers ten attempts during their period of provisional recognition in which to pass the examinations. The standard required to obtain a pass in the SCG is determined by the fact that teachers in national schools must be qualified to teach the range of primary school subjects to children aged four to 12 years. Accordingly, applicants must satisfy my Department that they are competent to teach the Irish language and to teach the range of primary school curricular subjects through the medium of Irish before being granted full recognition to teach in mainstream classes in national schools.
With regard to the teaching of the language itself it must be remembered that a primary teacher may have to teach pupils whose mother tongue is Irish, or who are competent users of the language. Even when teaching Irish to pupils whose mother tongue is English or another language, it is widely accepted by language teachers that, in order to be effective, the teacher needs to have a very good command of the language.
I recently established a working group to review the syllabus and examination for an scrúdú le haghaidh cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge. This review will involve two stages i.e. a short-term review and a long-term review. It is intended that a report arising from the short-term review will be completed by 28 February 2002 and the long-term review will be completed in the Autumn of 2002.
