Teacher training course reform

HUNDREDS of prospective primary teachers could be ineligible for training courses under higher standards of maths, Irish and English being demanded by the profession.

The Teaching Council is proposing major rises in the minimum Leaving Certificate grades needed in all three subjects for entry to the main primary teacher-training degrees.

Most of the 1,000 or so school-leavers who begin Bachelor of Education (BEd) programmes each year perform well above existing requirements, but the planned changes could rule out hundreds more who still meet Central Applications Office (CAO) points requirements.