THE TEACHERS’ UNION of Ireland has found that the recruitment crisis in second level schools is worsening, after surveying 104 schools across the country. 

TUI is calling for the Government to take action after a survey it carried out revealed that 64% of 104 secondaries have unfilled vacancies, and just 1% of principals believe enough is being done to tackle the issue. 

Of the schools that were surveyed by TUI, 77% had advertised positions in the previous six months, and 61% experienced teacher retention difficulties in the same time period. 

Not only are these second level schools finding it hard to find new staff, they are also struggling to hold onto the teachers they have. 

The president of TUI, David Waters, said that the Government has been repeatedly warned about the teacher recruitment crisis, and yet it “still refuses to acknowledge the severity of the problem, let alone act decisively on it’. 

Waters added that the difficulty graduate teachers are facing in securing accommodation is “exacerbating” the sector’s recruitment crisis, while the cost of pursuing a two year Masters course with no job guarantee at the end is putting off some from entering the profession. 

“At the very least, new entrants to the profession must have a job of full hours and access to the career progression options that existed before the last recession,” he said. 

Waters also had particular concern about posts of responsibility not being yet restored to pre-recession levels. 

These include pastoral support for students, and administrative support to “overburdened principals”. 

Principals have told TUI that in some cases teachers are accepting positions, only to later reject them. 

“We understand why teachers are forced to do this given that they might be offered more hours in a school elsewhere, but it is extremely time-consuming and stressful for principals. 

“Schools need larger teaching allocations that would allow them to offer full hours rather than just fractions of jobs,” Waters said. 

77% of the schools that took part in the survey said that they have posted job vacancies in the last six months that have received no applications. 

18% of the schools surveyed by TUI said they have been forced to drop subjects from their timetable due to a lack of staff, while 45% said that they have had to restrict the numbers of students accessing certain subjects for the same reason.