The Irish Times: The six-year route to qualifying as a second-level teacher is a long, winding and expensive road.

As Ireland reaches full employment with access to quality jobs after a four-year degree programme in many disciplines, the length of teacher training with its associated costs is becoming a disincentive to entering the profession, according to experts.

There are a number of routes into a second-level teaching career: a three- or four-year undergraduate degree, usually arts, followed by a two-year postgraduate programme has traditionally been the most common. Read article