The head of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland has strongly defended the amount of holidays teachers recieve within the school year.
The news comes after a recent survey was conducted by the union members has found that 96% of teachers agreed their workload had significantly increased within the last five years. A number of union members claim that their job has become much more excessively administrative in the last number of years, which is resulting in less classroom teaching and learning.
According to John MacGahann the TUI General Secretary, teachers who take two weeks holidays, are still working. Mr MacGahann said: “I can understand that the issue of holidays arises any time teachers point to the problems of the system,” he said. “I would equally point out that practically every teacher who is currently on holidays will have taken, with him or her … a very significant volume of work in terms of correction work – which is work.”