Sick teachers cost state €60m a year in cover
- Published: 02 November 2008
Source : Sunday Tribune
Sick teachers cost state €60m a year in cover
Martin Frawley
Primary and secondary school teachers take almost 240,000 sick days a year with €60m being spent on substitute cover.
Education minister Batt O'Keeffe has declared that he will cut back on the use of substitute teachers from next January and told the Dáil last week that one third of the total €151m cost of substitute teachers in primary and secondary schools to cover over 600,000 days, was due to teachers being out on certified and uncertified sick leave.
Under Minister O'Keeffe's cutbacks, substitute cover would no longer be provided for teachers on uncertified sick leave in all schools or to cover for secondary teachers away on school business such as sports events, seminars or arts events.
Of the €60m to cover sick leave, over €16m is for uncertified sick leave ; the main area O'Keefe has targeted for cutbacks.
At primary level, where almost 30,000 teachers are employed, the overall cost of substitute cover has mushroomed from €26m in 2002 to a projected €84m this year.
In the 2007/2008 school year at primary level, substitute teachers were used to cover for 362,923 teaching days of which 30% or 109,000 were to cover certified sick leave and 11% or 40,000 days to cover for uncertified sick leave.
At secondary level where 17,700 teachers are employed, substitute teachers were used to cover for 245,399 days of which 25% or 61,350 were for certified sick leave and over 11% or 27,700 for uncertified sick leave.
This leaves an overall absenteeism rate among teachers of over 7% of which sickness accounts for 3%.
Though this is not high by private sector standards, the problem for Minister O'Keeffe is that unlike most jobs, immediate cover has to be provided for an absent teacher and this has cost progressively more over the past few years.
The other 370,000 teaching days in which substitute teachers had to be used included teachers away at events relating to their jobs.
In a further blow to teachers, Minister O'Keeffe also announced that the special early retirement scheme for teachers is being suspended due to the "challenging economic climate".
This early retirement scheme for teachers gave teachers added years service for pension purpose if they volunteered to go early because (a) they were experiencing professional difficulties, (b) their departure would allow the school to expand their education service and (c) they were surplus to requirements.
Almost 1,400 teachers have availed of the scheme since 2002 and 191 are expected to depart this year before the scheme finishes.
claire byrne, page 11
