Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills why an educational institution (details supplied) has a large student to staff ratio despite the teaching council's Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers recommending a ratio of 15:1 and despite the institution having substantial cash reserves. [14680/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Institution (HEI) concerned is a private body. It receives funding from my Department in respect of students enrolled in its Professional Masters of Education Programme which has been accredited by the Teaching Council.

The Council is the statutory body that sets and upholds the standards for entry to the profession. One of the ways it does this is by reviewing and accrediting programmes of initial teacher education provided by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the State. In order to guide its review of programmes, the Teaching Council published Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers.

The post graduate primary initial teacher education programme run by the HEI to which the Deputy refers was reconfigured in 2014 and the new Professional Masters of Education was accredited by the Teaching Council in July 2014.

One of the recommendations made by the Teaching Council as part of the accreditation process was that the HEI should take steps, wherever possible, to improve staff/student ratios. The accreditation report further recommended that accreditation be granted for 3 years after which time a mid-term progress report would be submitted by the HEI. This progress report is due in July 2017 and a decision will then be by the Teaching Council on granting a further period of accreditation.