In a move that has provoked outrage among teacher unions, second-level students are rating the performance of their teachers on a new website.
The ratemyteachers.ie website invites pupils to anonymously appraise teachers on a scale of one to five, and awards marks based on their helpfulness, clarity in teaching and popularity in the school.It also features a "hall of fame" and a "wall of shame".
Teachers from several schools are evaluated on the site, established in December. These include Ashbourne Community School, Co Meath; Catholic University School, Dublin; St Mary's secondary school, Edenderry, Co Offaly; Manor House School, Dublin, and Muire na Dea Comhairle, Headfort, Co Galway.
In the case of one school, more than 30 members of staff are named and rated on the basis of "easiness, helpfulness, clarity, popularity and overall quality".
The feedback from the pupils has been overwhelmingly positive, although there is also some negative comment. The site is an Irish version of a popular US one that claims to have received more than five million ratings since its inception five years ago.
The Irish site lists the vast majority of second-level schools in the Republic.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland has expressed dismay at the development and is seeking advice from the Department of Education. It has asked schools to block access to the site from school computers.
Its general secretary, Jim Dorney, said: "If doctors, members of the Garda Síochána, lawyers or any other group was scrutinised in this underhand way, there would quite rightly be an outcry. Teachers have enough professional pressure without the added stress of such unwarranted ratings."
He said the site could "facilitate any party in blackening the good name and professional reputation of individual teachers.
"There is nothing to stop any member of the public logging on to the site and submitting ratings and comments which could be extremely damaging to individuals.
"It is apparent from the way the website operates that good teachers can be defamed by disparaging comments from anybody with a mind to do so and access to the internet."
On the website, its backers write a strong defence of its methods. "By studying the ratings, the teacher can often adjust teaching methods, helping create that environment of mutual respect whereby their knowledge will translate more effectively to the mind of the student," it says.
