Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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127. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce a one year teaching higher diploma postgraduate qualification for teaching primary or secondary students for those who have a non-educational undergraduate degree; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7850/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Initial teacher education, ITE, for primary and post-primary teachers is facilitated through a range of concurrent, undergraduate, and consecutive, postgraduate, programmes.

The Teaching Council is the statutory body that sets and upholds the standards for entry to the teaching profession. All ITE programmes that lead to registration with the Council must have professional accreditation from the Council.

Changes to ITE were proposed in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy Among Children and Young People 2011-2020 and incorporated into the Teaching Council’s policy paper on the continuum of teacher education and initial teacher education: criteria and guidelines for programme providers. These changes included the reconfiguration of the course content and increased duration for both primary and post-primary ITE programmes: undergraduate ITE programmes must now be a minimum of four years duration and postgraduate programmes are of two years duration.

The Teaching Council is reviewing the impact of the reconfigured programmes as well as the criteria and guidelines for programme providers.

At present there are no plans to introduce a one year higher diploma postgraduate route to qualification as a teacher.