BY DIONNE MEEHAN
RESOLVING the staffing crisis, increasing pay and reducing paper work are just a few changes Donegal woman Dorothy McGinley intends to bring about as the newly elected INTO President.
Dorothy, who is now the voice of a 50,000 member union, said it is a massive honour for her to wear the chain that represents the 32 counties of Ireland.
Growing up in the same village as John Boyle, General Secretary of the INTO, Dorothy said it is a big honour for the village of Annagry to have two representatives with high posts in the organisation.
Working in the international system of education for many years, she taught in California, Aberdeen, India, Ethiopia and in Seattle.
She felt it was important to get a diverse educational experience as it gave her a full breadth of what is happening educationally across the world.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Dorothy said because she was interested in social justice from an early age, it was just a natural calling for her to join the trade union, from which she has learned so much.
“It has been an absolute honour to be the voice for teachers in terms of issues that are going on in their schools.
“I was always interested in all things educational and anything to do with the rights of teachers and also children.
“We have the greatest job in the world, there is no other job that you can be so present and actually influence, it is a really great honour to be a teacher,” she said.
However, with pros comes cons, and Dorothy said now more than ever the INTO need to be the voice of these teachers who are teaching in the classroom.
Dorothy’s mantra for the year 2023/24 is to value education and value the teaching profession.
“It is my vision educationally that all pupils have high quality education, which enables them to reach their potential,” she said.
One of the main concerns of the INTO at the minute is the staffing crisis.
“If you ask any Principal what their biggest challenge is, they will tell you it is staffing.
“In the South, the government’s failure has created a crisis.
“Minister Foley has announced she is going to set up teacher training college opportunities for 600 student teachers but that takes five years, what do you do in the meantime,” Dorothy said.
With living standards eroded, Dorothy said the INTO voted in favour for the extension of the building momentum agreement last September. The past three years inflation has conservatively been estimated at 15 per cent, however no public servants received that 15 per cent pay rise.
“The price of groceries have gone up, mortgage repayments have increased, along with rent and energy bills.
“The INTO will be looking for something in the new pay deal that actually reflects the inflation that’s going on in the South and something that would actually value the profession,” she said.
With a very detailed workload survey resulting in nine out of ten teachers saying they have never felt as stressed as they did in the last five years, Dorothy said the INTO will be calling on the government to do something about the over burden of paperwork.
“Teachers are not allowed to be creative in the classroom anymore because their time is taken up with unjust paperwork.
“That is something the INTO will be pushing for so teachers will have the ability to teach and be creative in the classroom,” she said.
Although Dorothy only put on her chain last week, she has a busy schedule ahead of her.
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