Sir, -John McHugh surprisingly states that “The role of principal is no longer seen as attractive or sustainable, and this poses a threat to the quality and continuity of school leadership in the country.” (“It is a great honour to be school principal – but the role is no longer sustainable”, Education, May 26th).
It is surprising because there no evidence of a recruitment crisis for school principals. On the contrary these well-paid, permanent jobs are highly sought after and any vacancies that arise are promptly filled.
By comparison there is a long running, and deepening, crisis in teacher recruitment. This is unarguably the single biggest threat to the quality and continuity of education (including school leadership) in Ireland.
A principal and the school s/he leads can only be successful when they are able to recruit the necessary personnel.
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At present it’s a lack of teachers, not principals, which is threatening our educational system. –Yours, etc,
SEAN KEAVNEY,
Dublin 15.
