1 June 2011 - Where Are All The Unemployed Teachers?
- Last Updated: Thursday, 02 June 2011 10:22
There has been much focus in recent days on the fact that almost half of all Primary Schools in the state have used an unqualified substitute teacher at some stage in the first half of the school year. Figures released by the Department of Education and Skills also indicate that 1,200 retired teachers have been used by schools in the same period.However, strong evidence is emerging that Principals of Primary schools are finding it extremely difficult, if not impossible to find fully qualified substitute teachers at short notice, even during a time of high unemployment.
The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) report that its free web based facility for sourcing substitute teachers ‘TextaSub’, is unearthing evidence that Principals have little option but to employ retired personnel because few, if any, qualified teachers respond when they receive a text that a position is available in a school.
The President of IPPN, Mr Pat Goff stated ‘Over 750 qualified teachers nationwide are currently registered with TextaSub as available to take up work at short notice. These teachers are notified of vacancies by TextaSub and the onus is then on the teacher to contact the Principal of the school that has a vacancy. However, only this week, when 146 teachers in the immediate Dublin area were alerted that a position was available in a large Dublin school, the Principal did not receive one single call from an available teacher’.
Mr Goff asks the question, ‘Have young unemployed teachers lost the will to look for a job other than the elusive long-term position, or have many reluctantly become another statistic on our ever lengthening dole queues. This is a very worrying, and real dilemma for Principals; every text sent, goes only to those teachers who register themselves as currently available’.
Mr Goff also raised concerns about the recent directive from the Department of Education and Skills which requested every Principal to keep a log of all phone calls made to secure fully qualified personnel for future scrutiny. He added that, ‘as far as Principals are concerned, TextaSub is the service to use for finding teachers. Because it reaches , not just teachers who are registered with the Teaching Council , but only those who are qualified to teach in a primary school.
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