Call for pay hikes to avert ‘crisis’ in recruiting Leaving Cert examiners

Sharp pay increases are needed for Leaving Cert examiners to avert a “crisis” in the supply of qualified teachers to correct exams, a teacher’s union has warned.

The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) said there are acute difficulties recruiting teachers for next month’s oral exams and the written exams in June.

Pay rates are one factor, it said, while some schools are reluctant to release teachers to work as examiners due to a shortage of substitutes.

Union officials told a press conference on Tuesday that rates for correcting exams have fallen by almost 20 per cent due to austerity-era cost cutting. It said average take-home pay, after tax, for examiners was now about €40 per day.

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A motion calling for an increase of up to 30 per cent in pay rates for teachers contracted to assist in the operation of State exams is set to be debated at the ASTI’s annual conference next week.

The State Examinations Commission said on Tuesday evening that the availability of sufficient examiners to mark the exams was “ very tight”.

It said Leaving Certificate oral tests, along with Leaving and Junior Cert music tests, will all be completed within the scheduled fortnight following the Easter holidays.

While the bulk of Junior Cert home economics practical tests will also take place during this time, a “small number” of schools will be visited by an examiner later than scheduled. It said all candidates will have been examined by April 27th.

“This situation has arisen due to a small shortfall in the number of available examiners for the scheduled fortnight,” it said.

“All schools have been notified of the detailed arrangements for the holding of the oral and practical tests in their schools.”

A nationwide poll of teachers conducted by the ASTI has also found additional demands on second-level schools are leading to an “unsustainable” work burden for teachers.

The ASTI/ RED C survey of more than 2,300 teachers found that 97 per cent believe their work intensity has increased in recent years.

As a result, the vast majority of teachers say they cannot complete their non-teaching duties during the school day.

The poll indicates that most second-level teachers are spending an average of about 43 hours working each week.

While they spend about 21 hours teaching each week, the survey found teachers spend a further 20 hours engaged in “non teaching duties” such as class preparation, marking homework, attending school meetings or completing pastoral care duties.

While the survey shows that helping young people is the main source of job satisfaction for teachers, it also finds overall job satisfaction has dropped sharply since the beginning of the decade.

In 2009, 77 per cent of teachers described themselves as satisfied with their work. This dropped to 51 per cent this year.

ASTI president Ger Curtin said it was clear that the work of teachers has changed significantly in a decade.

“As society has changed, the role of the teacher has expanded. The number of new initiatives in schools and the pace at which they are implemented has increased,” he said.

“It has always been acknowledged that teaching is a stressful occupation, however what we are now seeing in schools – as evidenced by the survey – is unsustainable demands, high levels of stress and low morale.”

He said these matters must be addressed as a matter of urgency if we are to maintain our high quality education service.