Special teachers hit an Irish barrier

UNTIL recently at any rate there seemed to be a welcome for Irish emigrants who wished to return home, especially those well qualified and experienced to work in sectors that had encountered shortages.

But this is not always the case.

The British education department has been struggling to fill posts for many years and has had to adapt to teacher shortages.

Many teacher friends of mine Britain originally qualified and worked as secondary teachers, but for the past few years they have worked with pupils (mainly of primary age) with multiple learning difficulties. Many of these teachers realised this was an area in which they had a strong interest.

They are considered capable and qualified to teach pupils of any age or ability level in Britain. However, Ireland is not offering them the same welcome.

The Department of Education feels that in order for them to be recognised as “qualified” to teach pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, they must return to university full-time for at least one year and retrain as national teachers. These teachers have no intention of teaching in a national school. What will this course teach them about a job they can already do and wish to continue doing?

More importantly, will a national teaching qualification educate a graduate who is interested in working as a special needs teacher in, for example, communication for people with learning difficulties or methods of assessing and working with people with autistic spectrum disorders?

A primary school qualification will not give this necessary training, and yet it allows those holding it to walk into such a job, whereas the teachers I have referred to are seen as unqualified.

In order to allow these teachers return to Ireland, I would ask the Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe to relax the current regulations.

Cllr Noel Collins

‘St Jude’s’

Midleton

Co Cork