Shortage of secondary teachers

THE council has called on Minister for Education Joe McHugh to reduce the length of time it takes a second level teacher to qualify from two years to one. It’s on foot of a motion by Fianna Fáil Councillor Seamus Kilgannon who believes it could address the shortage of secondary teachers in the key subjects of Maths, Irish and Modern Foreign Languages. He also told the monthly meeting it could reduce the costs for student teachers, who often have to live away from home and have no income during their two-year training period. “By 2024 they have forecasted there will be 36,000 extra pupils in the education system and an extra 2,000 teachers will be needed,” he told the meeting.