Extra teachers will allow more students attend agricultural courses

SIX new contract teaching posts in agricultural colleges for a three-year period have been approved by the Public Expenditure and Reform and Agriculture departments.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said this exception to the moratorium on public recruitment will allow Teagasc to significantly increase student places.

Applications for places increased dramatically this year, following year-on-year increases for the last four years. But this coincided with 17 teacher and technician retirements in Teagasc since 2008, making it difficult to accept all students.