University teachers in Ireland are set to face penalties if they do not receive positive evaluations from students, under new proposals.

The Croke Park Agreement has stipulated that academics who fail to achieve a satisfactory rating under a performance appraisal test will not be able to gain some of their employment benefits, the Irish Independent reports.

Staff who do not get a high score will be unable to go for promotion, take sabbatical leave or receive annual salary increases.

However, the Teachers' Union of Ireland and the Irish Federation of University Teachers have opposed the controversial plans, saying they place excessive demands on the members of staff.

This comes after the publication revealed last month that the government's ban on taking on new employees in the education system had resulted in schools "descending into chaos", as they have been left without many key middle-management workers.

Written by Donal Walsh 

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