Schools across the country are struggling to fill staff vacancies with just weeks to go before the end of the summer holidays. 

In particular, principals are finding it hard to recruit teachers in subjects such as maths, Irish and home economics. 

Speaking on The Hard Shoulder, Coláiste Éamann Rís Principal Aaron Wolfe described it as a “huge issue”. 

“The teaching crisis is real,” he said. 

“The teachers aren’t out there and there will be classes in September [without teachers].

“There are certain subject areas where you won’t be able to get any qualified teachers. 

“Particularly places like Dublin find it very difficult and they find it very hard to fill vacancies.” 

School children smiling in classroom. Image: Fredrick Kippe / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Wolfe said there are simply not enough young people going into teaching and those that do often go and teach abroad where salaries are higher and life seems a little bit more exciting. 

“They leave, they go to Dubai or places like that,” he said. 

“But they don’t stay in Ireland which leaves us in the current crisis we’re in that we will have empty positions in September.” 

Mr Wolfe said this is particularly difficult because as the Irish population increases, so too is the student population. 

“Secondary schools should now be at the peak of student populations,” he said. 

“And we don’t have the staff members there - the young teachers normally entering the profession have gone. 

“People retire and they’re not being replaced.” 

Solution

Mr Wolfe said there are a number of policy changes he would make to encourage more people into the profession. 

“We need to be paid better money than we are,” he said. 

“The workload of teaching has increased hugely. 

“You ask anyone, ‘Would you be a teacher?’ and people say, ‘God no, I’d never go into a classroom.’”

He also suggested it should be easier to become a teacher. 

“What used to be the HDip - now called the PME - should never have been moved to a two year course,” he said. 

“Before [that] you used to do your degree, that would take you three to four years and then you could do one year of teacher training. 

“But they changed that to two years… it’s six years to qualify as a teacher, it’s a ridiculous amount of time to qualify.”

You can listen back here:

Main image: Teacher teaching to his pupils about geography. Picture by: Wavebreak Media ltd / Alamy Stock Photo.