Dublin relocation grants urged by ASTI

The ASTI has said the idea of paying grants to teachers to relocate to more expensive areas, such as Dublin, should be seriously…

The ASTI has said the idea of paying grants to teachers to relocate to more expensive areas, such as Dublin, should be seriously investigated.

The union, the largest at second level, said there were increasing shortages of teachers at schools on the eastern seaboard. It said this was caused by high house prices and the cost of living generally in the eastern region.

In order to alleviate this, it said a "relocation" grant should be looked at for teachers who move school. A spokeswoman said a similar grant was already available for teachers moving into the greater London area. The idea of paying teachers a "Dublin allowance" has already gained support among some members of the primary teachers' union, the INTO.

The suggestion is contained in the union's submission to the Government-appointed Task Force on the Physical Sciences. While its proposal is made in relation to science teachers, the spokeswoman said the relocation grant ideally would be open to all teachers who have to move school to a more expensive region.

READ MORE

The union's submission also calls for grades in all subjects to be standardised, in an attempt to reignite interest among students in science. It said one of the main reasons students did not take up science subjects was the difficulty in getting an honours grade.

It said research clearly showed it was harder for students doing maths and science subjects to get high grades. The ASTI is the latest group to call for a change in the way grades are allocated in the Leaving Certificate.

The Government's main advisory body, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), has already pointed to "gross differences" in grade patterns between subjects.

In this year's Leaving Cert about 66 per cent of higher level physics students were given an honour, compared to almost 80 per cent of candidates in Irish and over 75 per cent in higher level English. However, the rates of A grades in science subjects were notably high this year.

For many years science subjects have been regarded as difficult. Even though Leaving Cert subjects are governed by a similar marking process, large disparities arise each year.

While many educationalists support standardising the grades, so that the same numbers of honours grades are awarded in all subjects, the introduction of such a measure could meet opposition. If it was done in one year, it would cause large shifts in the grades, which could upset candidates sitting that year's exams.

The union's submission also calls for measures to make teaching more attractive to science graduates. It says giving them scholarships to undertake teacher education might be considered.

The submission also says the procedure for allocating teachers to schools should be changed. "The ASTI recommends that ex-quota permanent positions be created in all schools for the science subjects. Such a development is essential to ensure that schools have an adequate number of trained science teachers to deliver a range of science subjects."

It says the lack of laboratory assistants in schools is "a major source of frustration to science teachers". It says all schools "should be enabled to employ laboratory assistants".