O'Boyle Concerned At Future For Young Teachers

Local SDLP Councillor and Education spokesperson Carmel O’Boyle has spoken out following the recent Assembly debate regarding student teachers. Cllr OBoyle said, “Many newly qualified teachers across the North face a bleak future. So many are highly qualified with great personalities for the profession, however, they are lacking the opportunity to prove themselves. They enter the circle of not getting a job offer due to a lack of experience. They are however unable to gain the experience as these opportunities are few and far between. How does the Department of Education expect this situation to improve? “I have serious concerns about these individuals as they have undoubtedly left university with a sizeable debt with little hope of repaying it in the foreseeable future. “I feel it is time that the Department directed a policy that a substantial percentage of substitute teachers should come from the newly qualified sector thus offering these individuals the opportunity to gain the required experience. I appreciate that the retired teacher carries with him/her a great deal of experience but with this experience comes a price tag. “In this age of budgetary constraints (£248 million in education alone over the next few years) I feel that this policy could be looked upon favourably as newly qualified teachers would present a more affordable hourly rate for the school concerned,” added Councillor O’Boyle. ]]>