Why men don’t teach

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin wondered recently why more young men do not apply for primary teaching? She added that her department had spent two years (and God knows how much money) on a strategy committee to answer the question.

The committee came up with vague notions about higher-level Irish in the Leaving Cert being taken by about half as many males as females; this should give a 2:1 ratio of males to females in teaching but, instead, the real figure is closer to 4:1.

Conclusion: higher-level Irish is not the problem; nor is it the answer to the question. The answer is (for free, and not taking two years to discover): “It’s the money, honey.”