Teacher training has become 'unaffordable', with graduates forced to survive on 'fractions of jobs'

Earlier this year, a TUI survey found almost 80% of teachers employed before 2015 believe they could not afford to pursue teaching today, given the scarcity of full-time jobs, the accommodation crisis, and cost-of-living pressures.

Qualifying as a teacher has become “unaffordable”, with many students forced to rely on family to subsidise their studies or be left saddled with debt, a teachers’ union has warned.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has accused the Department of Education of being “intent on trying to ‘ride out’” issues around teacher recruitment and retention issues.

Ahead of the new academic term, the union is calling for a range of measures to tackle what it describes as an “ongoing crisis” that will see students missing out on subject options.

Earlier this year, a TUI survey found almost 80% of teachers employed before 2015 believe they could not afford to pursue teaching today, given the scarcity of full-time jobs, the accommodation crisis, and cost-of-living pressures.

Just one out of four recent entrants reported receiving a contract of full hours when starting their teaching career, said TUI president Anthony Quinn. 

This is a significant problem at second level, where those commencing are forced to survive on mere fractions of jobs and often have to be subsidised by family, if they are fortunate enough to have this support.

He added: "The cosmetic measures announced to date by the department have fallen far short of what is required, and as a result, students in many schools continue to have less access to the full range of subjects which should be available to them and are often taught a subject by a succession of teachers." 

"It is abundantly clear to us that the department is trying to ‘ride out’ the crisis until demographics change and student numbers at second level fall. This is denying a generation of students the full educational experience that they’re entitled to." 

The TUI is calling for the duration of the current professional master of education (PME), required to become a second-level teacher, to be halved, from two to one years. The course, offered at a number of institutions around the country as well as privately, became a two-year programme in 2014. 

Fees for the two-year PME tend to average €14,700. In January, the Department of Education launched a 'refund' scheme, which refunds teachers up to €2,000. 

However, the TUI said halving the duration of the PME would make teaching "immediately and significantly more accessible to all in our society, particularly to those who cannot afford to pursue the profession".

"It is no longer acceptable that second-level teachers should have to complete a four-year degree followed by a two-year PME, being subsidised by family if they’re fortunate enough to have this support or else being saddled with significant debt before they even apply for an initial teaching job that is unlikely to be on a permanent or full-time basis."

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Meanwhile, school secretaries and caretakers look set for indefinite strike action, from August 28, in a dispute over pay and pensions.