The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has issued a warning that the sustained crisis in teacher recruitment and retention could lead to the limitation of subject choices and could potentially undermine the intended redevelopment at senior cycle. The TUI has been clear in its belief that the Department’s seeming attempt to “ride out” the crisis until second-level student numbers drop, due to demographics, is “totally unacceptable”.
A survey by the TUI in the previous year revealed that 77 per cent of schools had jobs advertised in the prior six months with no applicants; 64 per cent experienced unfilled vacancies due to recruitment and retention issues; 89 per cent reported difficulties recruiting teachers in the previous six months; 61 per cent reported retention issues in the previous six months.
The TUI proposed a five-point strategy, including an increase in teaching allocations to schools to provide more full-time, permanent positions from the outset, as only 35 per cent of recently hired teachers received a full hours contract initially and merely 12 per cent got a permanent role upon appointment. It was also suggested to reinstate posts of responsibility that lost during the recession, halve the Professional Master of Education (PME) course to one year to make the profession more accessible and award full incremental credit to teachers returning from service overseas. The Union also recommended lightening the bureaucratic load on teachers, which according to TUI general secretary Michael Gillespie, is a “demoralising factor, and one that sees many leave the profession”.
Furthermore, he pointed out the worsening crisis which now covers all subjects. Mr Gillespie suggested that the Department’s actions so far have been inadequate and students are still not being provided with the full range of subjects they should have access to, they often have to be taught by a succession of teachers. Moreover, a “deeply concerning” policy that seems to be waiting for second-level student numbers to fall due to demographics, he described it as “reckless” because it deprives students the full educational experience they are entitled to.
Reducing class sizes, he asserted, is crucial for the successful implementation of senior cycle redevelopment.