asked the Minister for Education the number of students who qualified for the Higher Diploma in Education in 1976; and the number of new teachers with that qualification appointed at the beginning of the school year in 1976.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Higher Diploma in Education.
19.
According to the latest information available from the universities, 1,567 graduates were conferred with the Higher Diploma in Education in 1976. This number includes teachers already serving in primary and secondary schools.
The number of new teachers with the Higher Diploma in Education who were appointed in secondary schools at the beginning of the school year in 1976 was 661. Information in this regard is not available in the Department in relation to schools under vocational education committees.
Would the Minister agree that in regard to both education and employment it is vital that more teachers be employed at a time when schools are looking for teachers to enable them to develop the abilities and aptitudes of all pupils?
That question raises a wider aspect of this situation involving pupil/teacher ratios and so on. During the past ten years the pupil/teacher ratio in secondary schools has dropped from 24.6 to 18.6. This shows that the State, in so far as making available resources is concerned, has not done badly. The specific point made here about higher diploma students relates to an autonomous sector of the universities. Each year I have welcomed Deputy Faulkner's question in this regard but it does not seem to have had any effect on the universities in relation to the diminution of entries.
Does the Minister agree that the present pupil/teacher ratio is the same as it was during the final years of the Fianna Fáil administration? Would the Minister further agree that it should be brought to the notice of students and their parents that taking a degree and the Higher Diploma in Education is no guarantee of employment?
I am glad to draw the attention of the House and the public to that point.