TEACHERS RETIRING between next month and February can be re-employed to teach junior and Leaving Certificate classes, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has said.

“These teachers may be re-employed until the summer holidays for the teaching duties for which they were timetabled immediately before their retirement,” said Mr Quinn.

The Minister said that under the public service pension rights order, February 29th of next year was set as the final date on which public servants could retire and have their pension entitlements calculated on the older, higher rates.

It was possible, due to this effect on pensions, that there might be an increased turnover of teaching staff in the next few months.

Mr Quinn said the Government was very aware of the potential impact on students preparing for the two State examinations of an increased number of teachers retiring between now and February.

Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony, a former teacher, who raised the issue, thanked the Minister for addressing it ahead of time.

Mr O’Mahony had warned that a large number of retirements by the February deadline could result in confusion and disruption in the classroom, especially for examination classes.

“This is especially relevant for those sitting the Leaving Certificate examination. The changes will come during the final 10 to 12 weeks of the school year, the most important part of their education in secondary school.”

Mr O’Mahony said that during this time there were mock, oral and practical examinations and the final lead-in to the Leaving Certificate. “At that stage, the teacher is not only a teacher, but a mentor for the students and a calming influence.” Teachers offered guidance on revision and suggested areas likely to be examined.

Mr O’Mahony said that if the planned changes went ahead, they would represent an impossible task, from the student’s point of view, for any new teacher who might step into the classroom in March to oversee a smooth and seamless transition.

He emphasised, he said, that he was casting no reflection on the competence or qualifications of any new teachers.

Mr Quinn said that where a teacher’s pre-retirement duties included teaching and non-teaching duties, such as in the case of an assistant or deputy principal, the teacher would be re-employed for his or her teaching duties only.

He added that his officials had discussed the matter with second-level management bodies and expected to issue an information note in the next week.

The scheme, said Mr Quinn, would ensure there was continuity to the end of the academic year and that there was no disadvantage to students doing mock and certificate examinations. Teachers had three months in which to signal their intention to retire and he could not anticipate what the quantum would be.

“There is an expectation, not just in the education sector but across the public service, that people will avail of the option to retire if it suits their position in life to do so,” Mr Quinn said.

“The matter is entirely up to people to decide.”