Clare’s ASTI representative insists secondary teachers’ pay and conditions need to be addressed, rather than re-training primary teachers to fill staff shortages.
Hundreds of primary school teachers are to be retrained for secondary schools, to help address a severe shortage in the sector.
The situation is also predicted to worsen, as a record 400,000 students are expected to be enrolled by 2024.
Financial incentives could be offered for teaching training to encourage more people into the profession, while the Department of Education is also looking at sharing workers between schools.
Geraldine O’Brien, who is a teacher at St Joseph’s in Kilkee, has been telling Clare Fm’s James Mulhall that without making the profession more attractive, the crisis won’t be solved:
