Government seeks to boost number of male teachers
The awareness programme is part of a strategy being pursued by Education Minister Mary Hanafin in response to the falling numbers of young men choosing teaching as a career especially at primary level.
Latest statistics show that less than 17% of the 27,550 primary teachers last year were men, compared to around 30% in the 1970s. More worryingly for the future, just 11% of those studying to be teachers last year were male and some analysts predict that Irish primary classrooms could be virtually man-free zones in the next 10 to 15 years.