Teaching costs should be subsidised

ASKING trainee teachers to bring their own posters, paints and markers to the classroom is like telling trainee gardaí to take their own handcuffs to Templemore or compelling trainee nurses to bring medicine and bandages to hospital.

Not surprisingly, trainee teachers are appealing to Government to reimburse some €90 a week they currently spend on materials and travel expenses during teaching practice. But Education Minister Mary Hanafin has no plans to cover these costs.

Student teachers fear, and with some justification, that future trainees will be assessed on their financial resources as much as their teaching ability. According to John Carr of INTO, the teachers’ union, this is a widely held view among students.

Considering how hard it is to recruit new teachers, it would be a mistake to dismiss student claims out of hand. Surely, it would not bankrupt a cash-rich Government if expenses incurred on classroom purchases and travel were subsidised. Ms Hanafin should find ways to ease the plight of student teachers.