Brendan Griffin
Question:300. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education for clarification on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17641/24]
View answerTuesday, 23 April 2024
Questions (300)
Written answers
In accordance with Circular 0063/2021, teachers who considered that they were entitled to a qualification allowance were required to make a claim for payment of the allowance before the deadline of the 30th April 2022. This applies only to teachers who had an entitlement to an allowance prior to 1 February 2012 when qualification allowances were abolished for all new beneficiaries in line with Circular 0008/2013.
This deadline was an extension to the original deadline of the 31 October 2018, set out in Circular 0008/2013. A reminder of the deadline of the 31 October 2018 issued in Circular 0015/2018.
The date of the extension of the deadline to the 30th April 2022 was notified to all teachers in Circular 0063/2021 on 14th December 2021. Notification of the deadline was also posted on the Department’s On-Line Claims System (OLCS), on the Department’s Twitter page and was also communicated to the teacher unions.
Paragraph 1.5 of Circular 0063/2021 states: "Please ensure this Circular is circulated to all members of Boards of Management/Education and Training Boards and its contents are brought to the attention of all teachers in your employment, including those on leave of absence. This circular can be accessed on the gov.ie website."
Paragraph 3.1 of the circular states "All teachers are urged to check their salary to ensure that they are being paid the appropriate allowances. It is the responsibility of a teacher to ensure they are receiving the correct allowances".
Paragraph 5.2 of the circular states: "Any late application received by the Department/ETB after 30th April 2022 will not be processed and will be returned to the sender. There will be no exceptions to this provision."
This level of notice to teachers is considered sufficient for the deadline and therefore my Department is not in a position to extend the deadline.
The position in relation to the query submitted by the person named regarding their entitlement to an additional qualification allowance is as advised to them previously which is that, in accordance with the provisions of Circular 0063/2021, my Department is not accepting applications made after the 30th April 2022 deadline.
The Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two-year, full-time Level 9 postgraduate professional teacher education programme designed to qualify graduates as primary & post-primary teachers. Changes to the duration and content of initial teacher education programmes were made in response to recommendations in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among children and Young People 2011-2020 and were incorporated into the Teaching Council’s accreditation standards. What had been the ‘H-Dip’ of 18 months at primary and 1 year at post-primary became the two-year Professional Master of Education for both. The standards were arrived at following extensive research and consultation with regard to the programme that would be required in order to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding, and professional values expected of newly qualified teachers. The reforms were focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools, which is central to the educational outcomes of children. The extended duration allowed for substantial periods of school placement and a number of mandatory elements in all programmes including literacy and numeracy and ICT in teaching and learning. These standards were recently updated by the Council in Céim (2020) which reaffirms that post-graduate ITE programmes shall be a minimum of two years’ duration.
There are currently no plans to reduce the duration of the postgraduate ITE programmes to one year. The Department’s ongoing approach is to continue to develop further innovative measures to improve the availability of teachers.
In order for consideration to be given to a teacher's eligibility to be paid for a Masters degree allowance the teacher must have submitted an application on the relevant application form in accordance with the relevant Department circular.