Surplus teachers ‘not paid to do nothing’

TEACHER unions have denied that members who are surplus to schools’ staff allocations are being paid to do nothing.

Department of Education figures have revealed that 120 second level schools have more teachers than allowed for under official staffing levels. These levels are based on the number of pupils at the school and the teacher allocations are calculated in terms of whole-time posts, including part-time staff.

But while there appear to be 250 surplus teachers in the system, the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) said there was no question that people were sitting around staff rooms with no work to do.

"The teacher allocations are based strictly on student numbers; they give no indication of what's happening on the ground," said ASTI president Pat Cahill.

"Teachers who are above the school's quota are working very hard to deal with problems in schools where greater support is needed, in areas such as career guidance, special needs, learning support and resource teachers," he said.

A redeployment scheme agreed between school managers, unions and the Department of Education has not seen many ex-quota teachers moving to other schools. It is often hard to match these teachers' subjects with vacancies in other schools, while a union-led "first-in, last-out" agreement makes it more difficult to transfer staff.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey is seeking a more effective system which would allocate surplus teachers to schools which need them. The minster said he intends to revamp the teacher redeployment scheme in secondary schools.

The move, he said, comes after it emerged that one in four schools is officially overstaffed. Mr Dempsey denied reports that the Government was considering changing the situation in fee-paying schools where the state pays teachers' salaries. He said the arrangements would continue as they are at present.

Labour Party education spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan called for negotiations between the Department of Education and the teacher unions to devise such a system.

The Congress of Catholic Secondary Schools Parent Associations said teacher numbers were totally inadequate and allocations should be decided by maximum class size to allow children the chance to reach their full potential.

Meanwhile, SIPTU has voiced its criticism of greed-driven employers who are exploiting student workers.

The number of students who have contacted SIPTU four per week complaining about employers refusing to give them minimum wages or holiday entitlements is astonishing, said SIPTU Cavan Branch Secretary Gerry McCormack.