ASTI President says teacher shortages 'undermining young people's education'

Michael Bolton

The new head of one of the country's main teaching union says the Government must get real about addressing the teacher shortage crisis.

ASTI research shows three quarters of schools didn't receive a single application for an advertised teaching post in the 2022/23 school year, while 81 per cent of schools had to employ at least one unqualified teacher.

The new President of the ASTI, Geraldine O'Brien says the crisis is undermining children’s and young people’s education and must be addressed as a matter of urgency

Ms O'Brien says teaching is no longer seen as a good job, and more must be done to help address issues facing teachers in the classroom.

"The difficulty is the attractiveness of the teaching profession. While it's not a recent problem, it has been there for a number of years, it's now currently at its worst.

"The housing difficulty, the cost of living, the teachers' workload, and the fact schools are starved of essential resources.

"Pay teachers more firstly. Secondly, there could be a reduction in the pupil teacher ratio. Thirdly, they need to collaborate affectively. Meaningful collaboration with teachers in relation to change.

"Teachers know best what will work, and will not work in the classroom."