Inaugural Students Of Migrant Teacher Project Graduate

The inaugural students of a bridging programme as part of the Migrant Teacher Project have graduated in a ceremony attended by the Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh T.D.

The ceremony on Thursday 04 July saw 34 teachers graduate having completed the bridging programme, 'Being a Teacher in Ireland' which ran from January to May this year. Participants in the course qualified as teachers in 17 different countries and many are already in teaching careers in Ireland.

The Migrant Teacher Project at Marino Institute of Education was established in 2017 with the aim of increasing the participation of Immigrant Internationally Educated Teachers (IIETs) in primary and post-primary schools. The programme gives the teachers an insight into the Irish education system.

Minister McHugh congratulated the graduates: "The Migrant Teacher Project is a brilliant initiative. It is about integration and diversity. It will help with recruitment issues that some schools in some parts of the country are facing. It offers the opportunity to bring a new dimension to the teaching of languages in our schools, as well as other subjects, and it will undoubtedly bring a new, unique cultural benefit to the schools where these teachers will get jobs.

"There is also the tremendous life experience that people who migrate can share with children in terms of their history, the sociology and globalisation. The experience internationally about projects like these is that they are overwhelmingly positive.

"The teachers who have gone through this project in Marino Institute of Education bring vast knowledge and experience from different countries and can pass that expertise on to students and colleagues.

"I look forward to seeing the project continue to grow for the coming years and help to further deepen our diverse teaching population."

Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton T.D. said: "I am delighted to have funded this ground-breaking project, which highlights the success of a whole-of-government approach to integration in line with the Migrant Integration Strategy. We have a source of qualified professional teachers among our migrant population and I commend the Migrant Teacher Project in enabling these already qualified teachers to teach here in our schools and will benefit from the diverse perspectives they will bring to their pupils, schools and communities which they will serve."