Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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276. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the upcoming change in length from a one year to a two year course, of the Professional Diploma in Education; if he will indicate the way the new course will be structured; if he will detail fees for when the course changes from a one year to a two year cycle; if students will have to pay full fees in each year; the amount of those fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18689/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Government is committed to improving the quality of education in Ireland. In relation to teaching, this agenda is being driven on a wide number of fronts, including through the work of the Teaching Council, the initial teacher education (ITE) providers, the national induction programme for newly qualified teachers and the provision of a range of continuing professional development services.

I support the changes to content and duration being made to initial teacher education programmes for post-primary teaching. These are in line with the aims of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and aim to ensure that newly qualified teachers are better equipped for the needs of the modern day classroom. While the Teaching Council has set out guidelines and criteria for these programmes, provision in terms of structure and content will vary between providers as individual colleges have responsibility for implementing the changes in their own programmes. Generally, the setting of fees for postgraduate programmes of study, including post-primary teacher education programmes, is a matter for the institutes concerned.