Education ‘at risk’ as teachers wait 10 years for jobs

SECOND-level students are at risk of lower quality education because teachers face waiting up to a decade to get permanent jobs after qualifying, a union has claimed.

With more than half of second-level teachers under the age of 30 on temporary contracts of a year or less, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) said most spend a number of years moving between schools in the early stages of their careers. More than one-in- four second-level teachers do not have permanent jobs and fewer than 10% get a full-time permanent position within a year of graduation.

The ASTI is proposing a one-year induction programme for all newly qualified second-level teachers and changes in how staff are allocated to schools.