Madam, - Denis Desmond of the Retired Teachers' Association of Ireland raises an important point (November 7th). It is indeed scandalous that people without a teaching qualification, indeed sometimes without any qualification, are being hired as substitute teachers in schools.
The Teaching Council was allegedly established to ensure that only qualified, registered teachers were eligible for payment for such work. After two years of registration fees to this body, it is disgraceful that schools can, and do, hire anybody the local management wishes, qualified or not, to earn money as a substitute teacher. How galling for all our unemployed young graduates who chose to pursue a teaching career, to have to watch from the dole queues while others, many of whom shunned the very notion of teaching, are employed to teach.
This is even more unfair than retired teachers taking up jobs. There is no shortage of young, eager graduates available. We urgently need a system to ensure that employment as a teacher, depends on suitable qualifications and not mere availability or "contacts". - Yours, etc,
GRETA HARRISON,
Ballina, Co Mayo.
