The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned that the continuing teacher recruitment and retention crisis will restrict subject options and could also threaten the planned redevelopment at senior cycle.
The TUI has claimed it is “completely unacceptable” that the Department seems to be trying to “ride out” the ongoing crisis until student numbers fall at second level due to demographics.
A TUI survey carried out last year found that 77 per cent of schools advertised positions in the previous six months for which no teacher applied; 64 per cent have unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention difficulties, 89 per cent of schools experienced teacher recruitment difficulties in the previous six months; 61 per cent of schools experienced teacher retention difficulties in the previous six months.
In a five-point plan, the TUI has recommended increasing teaching allocations to schools to allow more full-time, permanent jobs from initial appointment as only 35 per cent of those recently appointed received a contract of full hours upon initial appointment, with just 12 per cent offered a permanent position on appointment.
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It further recommend that posts of responsibility which were lost in the last recession should be restored, the two-year Professional Master of Education (PME) should be halved to one year to make the profession more accessible.
Teachers who wish to return home after working abroad should be awarded the full incremental credit for their service overseas and the bureaucratic burden on teachers should eased as it continues to be a “demoralising factor, and one that sees many leave the profession”, said TUI general secretary Michael Gillespie.
He said the crisis is getting worse and has spread to all subjects.
“The cosmetic measures announced to date by the Department have fallen far short of what is required, and as a result students in many schools continue to have less access to the full range of subjects which should be available to them and are often taught a subject by a succession of teachers,” he said.
“We believe that the Department is trying to ‘ride out’ the crisis until demographics change and student numbers at second level fall. This is a reckless and deeply concerning policy and is denying a generation of students the full educational experience that they’re entitled to.”
Smaller class sizes are needed to ensure that the senior cycle redevelopment takes place, Mr Gillespie said.
“How can change of this magnitude be properly implemented if schools continue to struggle to recruit and retain classroom teachers?” he said.
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