Problems unlikely as teachers retire

THE retirement of an unusually high number of teachers in February should not create problems in the classrooms of Clare VEC schools, chief executive officer, George O’Callaghan has revealed.

February 29 is the deadline under the Croke Park Agreement for teachers to take up the retirement offer and avoid a major drop in pensions and lump sums.
Discussion on the subject developed at this month’s VEC meeting when Councillor Peter Considine queried what contingency plans are in place to meet with teachers taking up the retirement option.
“Hopefully, there will not be a disruption to students,” Mr O’Callaghan responded, before assuring those present there should be no problems given the high level of unemployment in the country.
Mr O’Callaghan said the actual situation would be clearer by February but he did not foresee any disruption of classes.
“While numbers retiring might be unusual, it is not unusual throughout the school year to hire substitute teachers in a temporary capacity until the end of term,” he explained.
In a reference to some people’s concern over the impact of cuts to career guidance services announced in the recent Budget, he revealed that under the new system, colleges and schools will have to provide guidance service from within their general teacher allocation.
The committee, Mr O’Callaghan emphasised, would study the implications of the decision when notified of its teacher allocation quota by the Department of Education and Skills in February.
“For second-level academies in Clare and around the country, the cut effectively means a de-facto increase in pupil-teacher ratio. It will have a varying impact on various academies,” he added.
Responding to a query by Councillor Cathal Crowe, he indicated that those ratios would not increase in schools operating under DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) status.