Moves to lift ban on unqualified teachers shelved [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 15 June 2011
PLANNED legislation that would have allowed unqualified people to teach primary and second-level students is being shelved by Education Minister Ruairí Quinn.
Following pressure from unions and the Teaching Council, he has decided not to proceed with legislation to amend part of the Teaching Council Act that would otherwise have meant nobody but registered qualified teachers could be paid for taking classes in primary and second-level schools.
While he had considered advice from his officials that schools needed to be allowed hire unqualified personnel in exceptional circumstances, such as teacher absences at short notice, he will instead move to implement section 30 of the act in the wording that was passed a decade ago.
It is understood that the measure will proceed in the next school year and would mean any non-teachers brought into classrooms in such limited circumstances would not have any teaching role. They might take a supervisory role, overseeing children doing class work set by the absent teacher or another member of staff.
The measure will allay the anger of teachers at the use of unqualified people after it emerged in April that more than 3,000 people not registered with the Teaching Council have been given substitution work by primary schools since September.
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