Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 June 2004
154 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps he intends to take to address the considerable imbalance between male and female applicants for the primary teaching profession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19500/04]
View answerThe Department has a primary education committee which is looking at the concerns about the numbers of males entering the primary teaching profession. I have asked the committee to make recommendations on strategies and initiatives to increase the number of males entering primary teaching. The committee is working under the auspices of the gender equality unit.
The committee first met in October 2003 and recently gave me an interim report of its considerations to date. I am very concerned about the falling numbers of males entering the teaching profession and await the recommendations of my primary education committee which I expect by late autumn 2004.
