Teacher's Pet

An insider's guide to education

It’s lucky for some high earners in education

The gravy train continues for the high rollers in our chronically under-funded education system – even as young teachers and DEIS schools are targeted for cuts.

Some 99 people – mostly medical consultants – earn over €200,000 per year.

A further 84 earn between €150,000 and €200,000. Of these, 28 work in UCD.

The numbers earning between €100,000 and €150,000 are also astonishing.

UCD has no less than 280 staff in this category while Trinity has 180 and UCC 121. There are also six members of staff at Galway Mayo IT with salaries in this range.

Figures for the other colleges include NUI Galway 98; NUI Maynooth 66; UL 73, DCU 66 and DIT 41.

Ruairí Quinn says he would like some of these academic to take a voluntary pay cut. But, to date, no academic has responded to his call.

Rural/ urban divide in CAO preferences

One of the striking features of last week’s CAO figures was what one might call the rural/urban divide. Applications for all the universities in Dublin and its surrounds increased dramatically. UCD was the star performer with a ten per cent rise in student applications . But DCU (up seven per cent ), Trinity (up five per cent ) and NUI Maynooth (up four per cent ) also did well.

While these colleges spun out the good news, there was no word from UL, NUI Galway or UCC. What’s going on? Are students more desperate for the bright lights of Dublin city ? Or is there something else afoot?

What’s the talk of the classroom?

Teachers tell us One Direction are suddenly passe and that the kids are enthralled by the Irish dance act Prodijig, winners of Sky's Got To Dance.Their victory is certainly good news for those offering Irish dancing lessons. One teacher told us her class numbers have doubled in the last week!

BMW’s hopes for a Technological University is stalling

Memo to the Border Midland West (BMW) region: you have two chances of getting a Technological University (TU) - slim and none!

At least that’s the word from some education chiefs unimpressed by the joint bid for university status from the ITs in Letterkenny, Galway Mayo, Athlone, Sligo and Dundalk.

And you can ignore all that guff about DIT and the south east having to meet strict criteria before they enter the Promised Land. The working assumption in the Department of Education and the Higher Education Authority is that both will gain TU status before long.

Some believe a link up by Waterford IT with Cork – and not Carlow IT – would make sense. The quality of research activity in both Waterford and Cork was praised in a HEA paper recently. But the political reality is that Phil Hogan and Brendan Howlin want a TU for the southeast based in Waterford and Carlow.

And that’s what we are going to get!

More on high salaries

How much does it cost the taxpayer to fund the top brass in the various VECs?

That’ll be €4.2 million in wages, expenses and allowances for 2011!

Overall, VEC Chief Executives received average allowances and expenses of close to €15,000 in 2011 . And that’s on top of very generous salaries – from €95,000 to €145,000 at the top of the scale.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald TD has described the monies paid out annually as staggering.

Email: sflynn@ irishtimes.com