Government ‘exploiting’ new teachers with interns scheme, union claims

The Government has been accused of exploiting the vulnerability of recently qualified teachers and spreading deliberate misinformation about their probationary process.

The accusation by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, the primary teachers’ union, follows the publication on the JobBridge website of a number of advertisements seeking qualified primary school teachers as interns.

The INTO has refused to endorse the scheme, saying it was exploitative and no substitute for paid work.

“Recently qualified graduates who have yet to get regular work should be extremely cautious about joining such a scheme,” said a spokeswoman yesterday.

“A teacher signing on for such a scheme could be risking the opportunity to get paid work that arises as the school year progresses.”

Under the scheme, interns receive an allowance of €50 per week on top of their social welfare entitlement

The Department of Education stated an internship must not cause an existing member of staff to be displaced from the school or be used to fill a vacancy.

However, the department said schools and VECs would be permitted to rotate staff in order to accommodate the intern.

“This could, for example, involve placing an intern who is a newly qualified teacher in an existing class in order to allow him or her to undergo the probation process and so become fully registered with the Teaching Council,” it said.

However, the INTO said teachers did not need a probationary period in order to take up jobs. “They get jobs and then do their probationary period,” said the spokeswoman.

She said teachers were also being led to believe they needed their probation in order to get a job abroad, which was untrue.

Teachers need a 20-week period of probation in the classroom in order to be fully registered with the Teaching Council.

The advertisements on JobBridge seeking primary school teachers state that those completing the internship will have attained skills in teaching primary school children. There are currently seven primary teacher positions advertised on the website.

Sinn Féin councillor Diane Nolan was particularly critical of an advertisement placed in JobBridge for an internship in a north Kerry primary school, saying it showed a worrying level of contempt.

“It would be something if there was a job guaranteed at the end of the nine months, but this is highly unlikely,” said Ms Nolan.

“I welcome the fact that the INTO has refused to endorse these internships. The fact is most young teachers will not even qualify for the scheme because they would have to be unemployed for six months.

“These internships are an attempt by the Department of Education and Skills to employ highly skilled teachers for next to nothing. It won’t be long before people will be expected to work for nothing.”

Ms Nolan said that Sinn Féin had recently highlighted a number of so-called internships in south Kerry for positions such as car valets and fruit and vegetable salespeople.