Ireland is tops for school completion & teachers' salaries

Posted by Schooldays Newshound, on 24/11/2015. Ireland is tops for school completion & teachers' salaries

Tags: Education And Politics Teachers

The OECD says that Irish teachers are among the best paid internationally, according to their report 'Education at a Glance, released this morning.

The report found that Irish Primary and Secondary school teachers are in the top ten of the best paid teachers in the world despite cuts in teachers pay due to the economic crisis.

The report is produced to measure the current state of education internationally. According to the Irish Independent today, some of the main findings are:

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while the international average starting pay for a teacher was the equivalent of €28,036, the figure for Ireland was €32,825 (The report used data from 2013).

Irish teachers do spend more time in the classroom than their international counterparts and Irish Public funding of education in Ireland is slightly above the OECD average at €10,098 per student annually, compared with €9,609.ss sizes are also higher than the OECD average.

The difference in teaching hours is greatest in primary schools, with an Irish teacher putting in 915 hours a year, compared with a global average of 772.

Annual statutory working time for Irish teachers is either 915 or 735 hours , the international average is about 1,600 hours.

Ireland’s pupil-teacher ratio of 16:1 and 14:1 at primary and second level, compared with 15:1 and 13:1 internationally.”

According to the ASTI, the Report also shows that Ireland is one of the best performing countries in the world in terms of the number of students completing second-level education.

Ireland has a 98 per cent completion rate at second level compared to the OECD average of 85 per cent. Ireland is ranked third out of 18 countries for second-level school completion.

Ireland also continues to be a leader in terms of the percentage of students who progress to third level.

ASTI General Secretary Pat King said that despite the implementation of devastating education cutbacks in recent years, second-level schools and teachers continue to prioritise the delivery of a quality education to all students.

“Completing second-level education is highly correlated to employment status, lifetime earnings and the wellbeing of individuals,” said ASTI General Secretary Pat King. “A country’s completion rates for second and third-level education are vital to the development of a workforce which can compete in a global knowledge economy and a society that supports and empowers its citizens.

See here for Full Report