New degree opens pathway to primary teaching with lower requirements in Irish

Vivienne Clarke

The National Tertiary Office will open a new pathway towards primary teaching, which will involve a five-year degree programme with lower entry-level requirements in Irish.

Spokesperson Tanya Jones told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the primary teaching degree course is just one of 74 courses that will be available across 13 universities in 24 counties in 2026.

The aim of the tertiary degree programme is to involve people from different backgrounds in higher education – the priority groups are those from a lower income background, mature students, lone parents and carers.

Entry to the courses is through engagement with educational boards and could involve an interview, a personal statement, she said.

“It's a much more personalised process, not just counting the points and numbers but actually talking to people about their aspirations, about their talents, and what career would they like to pursue.

“There are various entry routes which are available, and each course has an identified entry requirement.

“For example, if we look at primary teaching, this particular programme and the pathway into primary teaching, it's a five-year full-time tertiary degree designed to support the students from diverse backgrounds who want to become a primary school teacher.

“So essentially, while everybody can apply and the programme is open to all applicants, you have to achieve certain standards, let's say for the entry criteria, and they include academic requirements.

"They will ask you to confirm whether you belong to some of the priority groups.

“Priority groups on the National Access Plan would include those students from low-income households, mature students returning to education, lone parents or care-experienced students, many from different backgrounds because we're trying to give an additional pathway for those who are underrepresented in higher education at the moment.”

Jones explained that the five-year degree programme will allow students with lower levels of knowledge in Irish and other subjects to use the first year of the course to give them additional skills to meet academic standards as they progress to the second year of the course.

Other courses available on the tertiary programme include mental health, nursing, business management, nutrition, agriculture, science, and computing with AI.

Courses can be applied for through the website www.nto.ie, which will remain open until the middle of September.