Late Secondary School Places Announcement In Kildare Sparks Criticism From Teachers' Union Amid Teacher Shortage

Tuesday, 13 August 2024 14:24

By Martin Osborne

Most other countries announce additional school places at least a year in advance.

Announcing additional first-year secondary school places for Kildare in the middle of Summer is "silly".

That's according to Michael Gillepsie, General Secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland.

Speaking to Kfm, he said most other countries announce additional school places at least a year in advance.

Last week it was announced that over 200 additional first-year secondary school places have been created in six towns across the country, including three in Kildare.

As part of the plans, one additional first year stream has been created in Celbridge and Maynooth, while in Prosperous an additional nine first year places have been created.

However, Gillespie said announcing it weeks before the school term starts is silly as Ireland struggles with a massive teacher shortage.

He said the places are much-needed but questioned how plans can be put in place at such short notice.

Yesterday, the Teachers' Union of Ireland hit out at the Department of Education for failing to tackle the teacher shortage crisis.

It says schools are now experiencing significant difficulty employing educators across the full breadth of subjects.

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