Teaching Council

gaeilgegrinds

What exactly do we pay our money for? I mean there are still unqualified teachers and teachers teaching subjects not theirs. I thought that was what it was for. I'm not saying that's what I'm pushing for but if that was their aim they're doing terribly at it in my opinon.

Sir Humphrey

You are paying the council to merely exist and make up rules which have a veneer of betterment for the profession.

But it is only a veneer. The council has no control over the subject areas for which people are being taken into the PGDE nor over who schools decide to employ, so in that sense they are unable to enforce their own rules.

They are making rules in a vaccuum and until they actually have the power to implement the rules then they make little difference.

Presumably schools employ teachers who are not technically qualified to do their jobs because alternatives cannot be found.

That is the great paradox - people will tell you that jobs cannot be got for love or money, yet schools are forced to use unqualified or unsuitably qualified teachers. Riddle me that.

Toto Wolfcastle

According to the (extremely rude) guy from the Teaching Council who came to talk to us in NUIG last year, they have many many responsibilities. I don't remember any of them, but that doesn't matter, because he basically told us that they haven't started on most of them yet.

I gather that all they really do it send out forms, take in forms and money, and take months to type names and addresses into a computer.

Oh, and they take months to decide if your degree is acceptable to them.

In fact, if you are waiting for your degree to be recognised by them, chances are that your file is sitting in a pile outside the above guy's door. That's what he said last year anyway.

gaeilgegrinds

I just fail to see what we're paying for or why we should even both, at least my union seems to be working overtime. These crowd seem a shower of chancers!

Toto Wolfcastle

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

I just fail to see what we're paying for or why we should even both, at least my union seems to be working overtime. These crowd seem a shower of chancers!

I completely agree with you. I wouldn't rule out an increase in the amount we pay in the next year or so either.

I just think that if they really wanted to start a Teaching Council, they should have put a proper plan together, not have 15 things they wanted to do and then struggle to do even 3 of them.

They are meant to regulate the profession but as far as I can see they are not regulating anything. The man who spoke to us even told us that it would be the decision of the principals as to whether we could teach subjects other than the 2 we are recognised for. I mean, that goes directly against the point of the TC!

Trotter

Can we all remember to keep our comments factual please? I don't want this thread to spiral.

Toto Wolfcastle

Just to cover myself here, I want to point out that anything I have said, and anything I will say in this thread I have heard from a representative of the Teaching Council who spoke to those doing the PGDE in NUIG in 2007/2008.

sitstill

When I paid my fee for the Teaching Council, I was told that they would arrange a tax credit for the amount paid. I have heard nothing since and I couldn't find mention of it on their website, so I emailed them and this was the response I received:

Dear Mr *********



We have been in constant communication with the Revenue Commissioners over the past twelve months to secure the tax credit for teachers in relation to the Teaching Council annual fee. Several months ago we provided them with a test file and in mid-November they requested the full file containing the list of teachers who have paid to date. This file was sent to them for further testing but they were unable to confirm to us at that stage when the increased credit would be included on tax credit certificates.



In order to expedite matters I sought a meeting with Revenue officials on 17 December 2008. At this meeting I was informed that due to the early budget etc they had missed the deadline to ensure that the increased tax credit was available for December salaries and so they had “missed the boat” for 2008. Their only suggestion was for individual teachers to go to their local tax offices and seek a review of 2008 when they receive their P60s in early 2009. I suggested that this was inefficient and impractical to expect in the region of 60,000 teachers to descend upon their tax offices looking for a review.



As an alternative I suggested that when we are providing them with a file of teachers for 2009 (in the Autumn of 2009) that we would also give them the 2008 list so that two years credit would be given in 2009. They were keen to explore this possibility further and have undertaken to revert to me by the middle of January to let me know if this is feasible. In any case we have agreed that for 2009, the list will be provided to Revenue in late September/early October so that the tax credit for 2009 will be applied before the end of the year.



Please be assured that we have agreement from the Revenue that the fee is allowable against tax. The process for granting the credit in 2009 is agreed. The only issue to be resolved is the mechanism for granting the credit for 2008. We are actively pursuing this with the Revenue and will communicate the outcome to teachers in the near future.



I hope this answers your query but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.



Regards

Harry

freire

Just on a moan about these guys - they took my 90euro to register with them in August and I STILL haven't been registered with them!! So basically I'll have to pay them another 90 quid in March and will have paid 90 for the privilege of ..... paying 90 quid for jack squat. It really really really etc.