Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed)

3:30 pm

Photo of Terry LeydenTerry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Well done on bringing in such a high standard of teachers to the classroom. I have experience of the work of some of the teachers. Initially, there was resentment and pressure from the primary schools and now the most sought-after teachers are those who were trained in Hibernia College because most of them want to be teachers and have a passion to be trained and educated. That is where the rigorous standards, assessments and masters courses come in.

There has been a misunderstanding about the issue of distance education. I picked up on that a long time ago. I refer to circumstances where someone with the required knowledge can give one hour per week or whatever. It is not a replacement or a substitution. It is an addition. To get somebody from Harvard University to give a one-hour lecture in a supervised class is a magnificent idea. It broadens the mind of young people to see the technology and the interaction between that lecturer and the classroom, but it is not a replacement. Let no one misrepresent the position. That is done only in the circumstances of enhancing the educational experience of the young people who want to be educated.

I have a question for Dr. Rowland. How can he increase the capacity to cope with the current demand?

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