More than 100 Ukrainian post-primary teachers have registered to teach here 

Education Minister Norma Foley said Irish schools have become 'safe havens for over 15,000 children and young people fleeing unimaginable suffering and war in Ukraine'. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

More than 100 post-primary school teachers from Ukraine have registered to teach in Irish schools since fleeing war in their country.

To date, 103 post-primary Ukrainian teachers have registered with the Teaching Council here, according to Education Minister Norma Foley.

She was speaking at the annual Joint Managerial Body (JMB) conference in Killarney on Friday morning. The JMB represents all voluntary secondary schools.

Irish schools have become “safe havens for over 15,000 children and young people fleeing unimaginable suffering and war in Ukraine”, Ms. Foley said.

Amongst our peer nations in Europe, Ireland has one of the highest rates of enrolment for students from Ukraine, giving some sense of the speed with which the Irish education system has responded to the arrival of Ukrainian pupils.” 

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) is also preparing for students to be examined in Ukrainian for the first time as part of the Leaving Certificate in examinations 2025.

Leaving Cert reform

The minister also spoke about Leaving Cert reform, hinting Senior Cycle reform was necessary to equip students for a “new reality” following recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

“There are many strengths to the present Leaving Certificate, but there are also ways in which it risks failing to prepare Irish students for the world in which they will live, work, and make their vital contributions,” Ms Foley said.

For example, last week while visiting a school, a student pointed out to her that e-commerce was one of our fastest-growing sectors, yet it does not feature in the business subject.

The amount of data created and consumed over the last 10 years alone has increased by 5,000%, she added. 

“This has radical implications for how all of us live, work, and communicate with one another.”

“We have talked for years about how artificial intelligence will change the world of work and recent developments in AI make this only more pressing and relevant.” 

AI is no longer “a distant reality but instead, a very real force which we must reckon with for the sake of our children and young people”, she added.

While none of us know how these changes will continue to play out, and they do not fully rest within our control, we can control “how we prepare for these changes and how we support young people to navigate them”. 

We must seek to ensure that the Leaving Certificate equips students with the skills to traverse and thrive in this new reality." 

Meanwhile, in light of the continued difficulties faced by schools in recruiting teachers, the mMinister has met with a number of colleges to discuss the availability of student teachers to fill substitute positions.

The colleges have responded “very positively”, which has created greater capacity to assist schools, Ms Foley said. The Teaching Council has also introduced regulations allowing for the registration of undergraduate teachers to support schools.