Student demand for places in teaching courses is booming with an increase of 27 per cent in the number applying to the Central Applications Office.
In a dramatic reversal of the trend for the past two decades, more men are opting to teach.
Applications for primary teaching to St Patrick's College in Drumcondra, Dublin - the largest teacher-training college in the State - are up by almost a quarter.
There was a 20 per cent increase in applications for the Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.
Dr Pauric Travers, president of St Patrick's College, said last night that teaching was hugely popular because it provided both a fulfilling career and a healthy work/lifestyle balance.
Some 21 per cent of all applications for teaching now comes from men, up by more than 3 per cent in the past two years.
This trend will be welcomed by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, who launched an expensive campaign to attract men to teaching last year.
The Republic is one of the few OECD states where male interest in teaching is increasing.
Career experts say demand for teaching jobs (up 27 per cent) traditionally increases at a time of economic uncertainty.
The Central Applications Office figures, published officially yesterday, also show continued strong demand for courses in medicine (up 12 per cent), architecture (up 32 per cent) and business (up 6 per cent).
However demand for courses in physiotherapy is down by more than 33 per cent.
The decline may be linked to recent publicity about the difficulties facing physiotherapy graduates in securing permanent posts.
Demand is also down by almost 5 per cent for places in nursing.
This may reflect the increasing points level (360 at UCD) required for degrees in this area.
In a trend which will dismay and worry government and business leaders, demand for courses in science and technology is also down by 11 per cent.
Among the colleges, both NUI Maynooth (up 17 per cent) and Dublin City University (up 18 per cent) are the big winners.
Overall, the number of applications to the Central Applications Office from school leavers is up 4 per cent this year. Demand for places in the 14 institutes of technology is down by an average of about 7 per cent.
John McGinnity, admissions officer-assistant registrar at NUI Maynooth, said last night: "There may have been a perception that the points race was in a state of decline . . .
"From an analysis of the applications it appears that CAO points may stay the same or be slightly higher this year, depending on the demand for individual courses."
