THE MINISTER FOR Education has allocated €19,500 to the Marino Teachers Access Programme.
The scheme aims to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter primary school teaching.
Labour TD, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, started it. He said:
“The power of having a teacher from a disadvantaged background as a positive role model for their own community is immeasurable.
In my teaching career I encountered many students who would have made excellent teachers but encountered unreasonable barriers, such as the requirement to complete Higher Level Irish in their Leaving Certificate.
A pilot programme was set up which provided additional Irish classes to Transition Year students from DEIS schools on Dublin’s Northside.
It was hosted by Marino Institute of Education (MIE) and funded by the Northside Partnership.
By April 2013 – 25 students were participating in the programme.
Ó Ríordáin said he requested three years funding for the programme through the Higher Education Authority’s National Access Programme.
Minister Quinn has now extended the scheme for the next two years by allocating €19,500 to the programme.
A formal report will then be made on its success.
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