MORE THAN 1,000 teaching posts will be created within the next year as the Department of Education addresses the dramatic increase in the school-going population.
Some 500 teaching posts are currently being filled as part of the revised programme for government but more jobs will become available as the surge in pupil numbers continues.
There are more than one million students in Irish education. This includes over half a million in primary school, over 350,000 at second level and over 155,000 at third level. The number of pupils in primary schools will increase by 70,000 over the next decade.
The Government must meet this demand but under the terms of the revised programme it cannot increase class size. As a result, there will be up to 1,000 new teaching posts.
Research by the department found an additional 600 primary teachers and 330 post-primary teachers would be needed to account for the increased numbers of children attending school.
It is estimated the extra teaching resources will cost about €40 million, out of an overall education budget of close to €9 billion.
The INTO group campaigning for a No vote on the Croke Park deal condemned what it called the “spin” on the announcement by the Department of Education of an additional 600 primary teaching jobs.
It says the jobs were announced at the time of the December 2009 budget and do not equate to extra resources for schools.
Gregor Kerr of the campaign said all the jobs would do is maintain current levels of service. He said the announcement of the jobs for a second time was a cynical attempt to generate support among teachers for a deeply unpopular public-service agreement.
