The controversial Hibernia College online primary teacher-training course could lead to a surplus of qualified teachers in the future because the Department of Education and Science cannot control the number of students it enrols, a Dáil committee heard yesterday.
Mr Johnny Bracken of the Department acknowledged that there was a risk of oversupply of teachers because Hibernia could train as many as it wished.
Previously, the Department has determined the number of places on courses through its allocation of funding to teacher training colleges.
But the advent of the private Hibernia College course has given rise to concern that the majority of teachers may, in the future, come through the course if it is allowed to expand. This could have significant implications for the future of the existing State-funded training colleges.
In a wide-ranging discussion of the online course, members of the Joint Committee on Education and Science noted the unusual speed at which the new course had been approved by the DES.
Mr David Stanton TD (FG) said there had been cross-party concern about the course and highlighted the fact that students from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular would find it difficult to pay its €5,000 fee.
However, in a strongly worded defence of the decision to approve the course, Mr Gearoid O'Conluain, deputy chief inspector with the Department of Education, said he understood that certain prominent members of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) were involved in the genesis of Hibernia project.
Given this, he said, he was puzzled by claims by the INTO that there had been a lack of consultation on the issue. He criticised the existing teacher-training colleges for failing to come up with any solutions to what was "a "chronic supply problem".
The Department had been disappointed with the response of the colleges when it raised the issue with them, he said.
In its presentation to the committee the Department said that only one college, the Froebel College of Education, had submitted a proposal for a part-time course of three years.
But the costs associated with the proposed course were twice that of providing the 18-month, full-time postgraduate course.
Responding to questioning from Ms Olwyn Enright TD, the Fine Gael spokeswoman on education, Mr Gabriel Harrison, deputy chief inspector with the Department of Education, acknowledged that the Department had had concerns about the quality of the Hibernia course. They centred primarily on issues such as special needs training and gaps in the course content in its draft syllabus.