How unqualified are taking teachers' jobs [Independent.ie]
- Published: 25 April 2011
PRIMARY school children are being taught by hundreds of unqualified teachers, while graduates struggle to find work.
The scale of the scandal is underlined by the revelation that 400 people with no teaching qualifications worked for at least 50 days in primary schools in the current school year.
The 50 days represents more than a quarter of the full school year.
Figures obtained by the Irish Independent also show that half of the country's 3,200 primary schools employed an unqualified person for up to a week in the September-February period.
It is the first time the scale of unqualified teaching levels have been revealed.
And it raises serious questions about how the Department of Education has allowed unqualified teachers to continue to work in schools in such large numbers, for so long.
There is no formal system to provide cover for teachers who are sick or on leave, and principals often struggle to find a replacement at short notice.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
