TEACHING HOURS

PETER MULLAN,

Madam, - Your Editorial of last Thursday, January 29th, carried an often-quoted but nevertheless inaccurate reference to Irish teachers enjoying "one of the shortest school years in the OECD". The facts are that Irish primary teachers have 915 pupil contact hours a year. This is above the OECD average of 792 hours a year and is exceeded within the OECD only by Netherlands and New Zealand (930), Scotland (950) and the USA (1139). - Yours, etc.

PETER MULLAN,

Press Officer,

Irish National Teachers'

Organisation,

Parnell Square,

Dublin 1.