The lack of male primary school teachers is because boys see the job "as a female profession”. 

That’s according to teacher and columnist Jennifer Horgan who feels the roots of the problem begin very early on.

“About 80% [of primary school teachers are] women, I think, and if there is a man in the building, he tends to be the principal,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“Secondary is a little bit better, I think it’s about 60%.

“So, the implications of it are huge.

“In general, we need a more diverse teaching profession.

“I think the fact that teachers have to have Irish, that blocks a lot of people, and I suppose the whole religion thing comes in there as well.”

School children at a primary school in Yorkshire. Danny Lawson/PA Wire

If more men were to become primary school teachers, Ms Horgan feels, it would be hugely beneficial to the boys they teach.

“We speak a lot about the curriculum and education,” she said.

“But we don’t speak enough about the hidden curriculum - and that’s the stuff that young people pick up on in the classroom that isn’t said, that isn’t taught.

“Stuff like that, there’s always a woman at the top of the classroom.

“So, boys coming up, if they don’t see it, they can’t believe it.

“They just don’t associate teaching with themselves; they don’t see themselves in that role and they do see it as a female profession.”

If society does want more men to become teachers, Ms Horgan said the status of the teaching profession needs to be enhanced.

“Yes, teaching is a wonderfully rewarding job - but it’s not seen as a prestigious one,” she said.

“The truth of that is very telling in that principals are predominantly men.

“So, if you’re going to be a teacher as a man, you should really be trying to be a principal.

“That in itself sends the message that teaching isn’t enough.”

Currently, principals across the country have said there is a shortage of teachers - both male and female.

The problem is particularly acute in Dublin - with the high cost of living blamed.

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Main image: A teacher teaching his pupils about geography by using globe.