Sir, - The Department of Education confirms that the total number of unqualified teachers in the primary sector is now 1,400 (The Irish Times, September 4th). A frightening statistic, indeed, for any parent of a primary school child.
The main problem, it would seem, is caused by the Department's dogmatic insistence on an Irish qualification, although if I were employed as a "special needs teacher", I would teach only through English.
Were this criterion applied to the Irish Government, most of the Cabinet would be obliged to resign. But, of course, we don't insist on their being competent in Irish as 99 per cent of discourse in this State is conducted in English.
The only people who are profiting from this bungling incompetence by the Department of Education are the private schools. An ever-increasing number of parents are using the private sector to supplement the inadequacies of the public system. - Yours, etc.,
Michael O'Donnell, Ard Bhaile, Old Youghal Road, Cork.