Shortage of teachers

Sir, – Two fundamental issues in addressing the chronic teacher shortages at second level lie in both the length and cost of the professional master’s in education (PME).

These are both well documented but the lack of willingness to properly address these indicates that the Minister does not fully grasp the scale of these problems.

My own school in north Co Dublin has encountered student teachers who are unable to complete the second year of the PME due to tuition fees, alongside rising housing and living costs. One imagines this may be more manageable if the course were returned to being one year in duration.

The lack of meaningful action on these not only deprives our children of specialist teachers in key subjects but also makes a mockery of our alleged aspiration toward a “knowledge economy”. – Yours, etc,