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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 3

Written Answers. - School Staffing.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

392 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Education and Science the schools in Dublin 3, 5 and 9 that are experiencing difficulties in recruiting qualified teachers and support personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26273/00]

The information requested by the Deputy is not available to the officials of my Department. Teachers in primary schools are appointed and employed by the managerial authority of the school. In the event that the managerial authority of a primary school is unable to obtain the services of a fully qualified teacher at a particular time, it may appoint a person who is not fully trained in a temporary capacity. The managerial authority must continue to make every effort to obtain the services of a fully qualified person, including re-advertising a post.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a range of measures have been introduced by the Government to boost substantially the supply of trained primary teachers and alleviate the difficulty.

The total intake to the colleges of education for primary teaching in the 1999-2000 academic year was 1,283. This compares to an intake of 500 in 1996-97.

There are approximately 1,000 students again enrolled in the first year of the undergraduate training course in the 2000-01 academic year. A further post-graduate course will commence early in 2001 with a proposed intake of 280 students, bringing the total enrolment to 1,280.

It is projected that the intake to the undergraduate training course for primary teachers will continue at the current level of 1,000 for the 2001-02 academic year.

Between the 2000 and 2001 academic years it is projected that approximately 1,900 qualified primary teachers will graduate from the colleges of education. This represents a huge increase in the number of trained graduates compared to 1995 when 291 graduated.

A number of other initiatives to reduce the number of untrained personnel have also been introduced. B.Ed. graduates of St. Mary's College, Belfast, who have studied Irish to honours level as an academic subject as part of their teaching qualification, are now recognised as fully qualified.

Since September 1998, all primary degree holders who hold the higher diploma in education are paid as fully trained substitute teachers. In the current academic year, persons employed in a temporary capacity holding a degree and the higher diploma in education are paid on the trained basic scale for teachers.

Teachers trained in EU countries employed in primary schools are now remunerated at the trained rate pending their obtaining the necessary competence in the Irish language. EU trained teachers previously had to acquire the necessary competence in the Irish language within three years of their first appointment to a primary school. EU trained teachers now have up to five years to obtain the necessary competence in the language. In addition, for a period of two years from 1 September 2000, teachers trained outside the EU, whose qualifications have been accepted by my Department, will be granted provisional recognition for five years on the same basis as EU trained teachers.
Montessori trained teachers who successfully completed the course of three years duration at St. Nicholas, Dún Laoghaire, which is recognised by the National Council for Educational Awards, are also recognised as being fully qualified substitute teachers.
The decision to recognise fully qualified teachers who trained outside the State to teach in certain categories of schools and classes without the necessity to hold an Irish language qualification is also contributing to an improvement in the supply of trained primary teachers.
At second level, it is a matter for the school authority concerned to determine how approved teaching resources are to be utilised having regard to the curricular and other needs of the pupils in the school. Similarly, where a vacancy arises, it is a matter for the school authority to decide on the subject areas to be catered for.
My Department is not aware of individual second level schools in the areas referred to by the Deputy that are experiencing difficulties in recruiting qualified teachers. Neither is my Department aware of any second level school that has not filled its approved teacher allocation for the current school year.
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