Seanad debates

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Adjournment Matters

Teacher Recruitment

4:30 pm

Photo of Mary MoranMary Moran (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, to the House and thank him for taking the debate on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I have asked for this matter to be taken on the Adjournment to ask the Minister about the ongoing issue of retired teachers being re-employed in schools, often as substitute teachers or on a part-time basis. I have also asked him to address the issue of retired teachers being employed by the State Examinations Commission to act as examiners in practical subjects and to supervise the State exams.

Figures released in 2012 revealed that 1,311 retired teachers were employed as supervisors in the State exams while only 726 non-permanent teachers were hired. Since coming into Government, I understand that the Minister has committed with the Government to ensuring that unemployed and newly qualified teachers should be employed in schools where possible. I am extremely disappointed that the figures released this year, however, reveal again that more than 1,000 retired teachers were employed to supervise the State examinations. Of the 4,861 superintendents hired this year, almost 25%, or 1,049, were retired teachers, while just 250 unemployed teachers were hired. These figures are worrying given that last year 3,365 people graduated as teachers. I have inquired about these statistics before and been assured that newly qualified and unemployed teachers were prioritised this year. However, I meet constantly with newly qualified teachers who have been unsuccessful in securing positions as superintendents. I requested information as late as May 2013 on the number of retired teachers being employed as superintendents and am disappointed that I have yet to receive a formal reply. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would communicate my concerns to the Minister, Deputy Quinn, to ensure that I get a response. Meanwhile, I have read about the figures in the media and am disappointed not to have been supplied with them directly.

The TextaSub service which links schools to substitute teachers and can aid unemployed teachers in finding substitute positions is welcome, but it does not solve the problem. For example, in my home county of Louth, just nine teachers are registered for the service. As a former teacher and someone who is in communication with teachers in my home town, I am aware of the fact that there are many more than nine teachers in Louth who are seeking teaching positions. Often, an unemployed teacher must move to a more urban area to seek any kind of employment. They may not be living in the county and therefore cannot register for the service. Every day, I am contacted by newly qualified and unemployed teachers who are desperate to find teaching employment. They are graduates with excellent qualifications and skills, often past pupils who would make fantastic teachers and inject into their schools new ideas and teaching methods. However, they are disillusioned to discover that even substitute cover is often offered to retired teachers. I do not blame the Minister for this. He has made progressive remarks and tried to counteract the trend. The problem lies with certain schools which have a habit of employing retired teachers.

I had a worrying conversation with a former teacher recently. He informed me quite proudly that he had been employed constantly to provide maternity cover and substitute teaching since his retirement. I was informed recently of a teacher who was retiring this year. The teacher in fact retired last year and was obviously taken back by the school on a part-time basis. I find this extremely frustrating when we have newly qualified young graduates who do not want to leave the country. They want to stay and give something back through their education and skills.

Further examples of retired principals and deputy principals being employed to provide substitute cover or being employed as exam supervisors have been relayed to me by disillusioned graduates and the parents of graduates who have invested hard-earned money, energy and commitment to see children graduate as qualified teachers. I ask the Minister of State to consider taking further measures to ensure newly qualified teachers and unemployed teachers are prioritised. Schools have major autonomy in employing part-time and substitute teachers, as they do in the area of voluntary contributions and uniforms, which is another debate. Perhaps the Minister of State can relay to the Minister the suggestion that we create a system whereby the Department decides who will provide substitute cover, illness cover and maternity cover in order to ensure a more fair and equitable system will be provided for all.

Photo of Dinny McGinleyDinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Senator we have one thing in common in that we are both former teachers. I have an understanding of the point the Senator is making. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, who is in Cabinet at the moment. The State Examinations Commission was established as an independent agency in 2003 to deal with all operational issues relating to State examinations. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, has no role in the selection criteria for the appointment of superintendents of State examinations. The State Examinations Commission has provided the following information. Some 5,000 superintendents were appointed by the commission to almost 750 second level schools for the 2013 examinations. This does not include almost 9,000 superintendents appointed locally by schools, mindful of the specific needs of each individual student, to supervise students with special educational needs.

In the main, the State Examinations Commission appoints experienced teachers as examination superintendents. It is considered that teachers' classroom management skills and experience of working with young people are equally required for the effective conduct of the examination superintending duties. In 2013 a further criterion for appointment was introduced by the State Examinations Commission in order to comply with the terms of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, whereby all applicants had to be on the register of teachers maintained by the Teaching Council.

There is a long-standing policy of appointing unemployed and substitute teachers before drawing on other applicants. The State Examinations Commission highlighted this category of applicant when running the 2013 advertisement and recruitment campaign. The number of unemployed teachers appointed rose to 250 from 190 in 2012 and the number of substitute teachers appointed rose to 716 from 429 in 2012. Retired teachers may apply and be appointed in accordance with the terms of the Employment Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment on a number of grounds, including age. Following the removal of any upper age limit in 2005 as a consequence of the employment equality legislation, the number of retired teachers engaged as superintendents increased from 406 in 2006 to 1,458 in 2012, dropping to 1,049 in 2013.

The board of management of a school, in accordance with the provisions of the Education Acts, manages a school on behalf of the patron. The board of management of a school, or the education training board, ETB, in the case of the ETB schools, is responsible for recruitment, selection, appointment, discipline and dismissal of staff. Teachers and other staff are employed by the board of management or ETB. The Minister is not a party to that contract.

I agree that priority should be given to unemployed teachers over those in receipt of pensions and the Department has taken the following steps in this regard. Information notes were issued to schools in October 2009 and October 2010, which requested that schools prioritise unemployed teachers over those in receipt of a pension when appointing temporary teachers. Circular 31/2011 was issued to schools in May 2011 to ensure, as far as practicable, that people appointed to teach are registered teachers with qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which they are employed and that unemployed teachers are offered employment in preference to those who have retired. It required each school to keep a list of appropriately qualified registered teachers who are available for substitute work at short notice. This list must not include the names of registered teachers in receipt of pension in respect of service given under a public service pension scheme. It also obliged the principal to keep a record and report to the board of management any instances when retired registered teachers and unregistered persons are employed. The Department has also engaged with a number of schools who show up on the Department's payroll as employing retired teachers.

During the period of the written examinations each June, much of the integrity of the examination process depends on the manner in which superintendents perform their assigned tasks. It is a critical role and one that has been performed with excellence, skill and dedication by thousands of superintendents over the years. Superintendents have a range of important duties over a three week period in June. These include the safe custody of the examination papers, the safe custody of completed examination scripts and the safe and proper conduct of each day's examinations in line with the rules and procedures laid down by the State Examinations Commission.

The question of appointments of superintendents of State examinations is obviously an operational one. The State Examinations Commission is the body charged with the running of the State examinations and the focus of the greatest expertise in that regard. It makes perfect sense that this operational matter should be fully within the remit of the State Examinations Commission.

The Minister will refer the detailed issues raised in this debate to the commission for its information and consideration. Since September 2010, the recruitment of teachers by schools strongly favours unemployed teachers over those in receipt of pension. Under Circular 0040/2011 and subsequently circular 0008/2013, teachers who are retired and who return to teaching were remunerated at the first point of the revised salary scales applicable to new entrants at the date of re-entry. This represents a significant financial disincentive for teachers who retired at the top of their salary scale, often with a post of responsibility allowance, to return to teaching. The forthcoming commencement of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2011 on 1 November 2013 will provide a requirement for those in Oireachtas funded teaching posts to be registered with the Teaching Council in order to be paid from Oireachtas funds. These measures are positive for unemployed teachers. The comments of Senator Moran will be brought to the attention of the Minister.

Photo of Mary MoranMary Moran (Labour)
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The Minister of State has pointed out some of the measures taken by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, but I am worried the problem still exists and that the measures have not counteracted the problem. It is not widespread, it is confined to some schools. I ask that my request for a central system or more definitive way of giving priority to newly qualified and unemployed teachers is considered.