The summer holidays have well and truly started – rain, rain and more rain ….. and summer course mania is well under way. I wasn’t going to do a course this year but signed up to do a digital photography one. It cost me a grand total of €20. It hasn’t started yet and I’m between two minds as to whether I’ll bother doing it ay all.

Further enquiries leads me to believe I’d be wasting a week doing it. People … i.e. teachers doing the course view it as a week’s holidays trapsing up and down the countryside snapping at this and focusing on that!

I am interested in photography and learning how to use my camera properly but the thought of ‘wasting’ time isn’t appealing to me at the moment.

The reason teachers do summer courses (generally) is to get their entilement of E.P.V. (Extra Personal Vacation) days that they can take when needed during the school year. Most teacher do a course of a week’s duration giving them 3 E.P.V. days. Usually school authorities have no problem with teahers taking course days but normally don’t like them being taken at crucial times during the school year like the month of June for example.

Til now … you took a day …. no substitute teacher cover …. usually other teachers took your class and that was it. D.E.S. would get back to individual teachers if days were taken that weren’t allowed.

This year there’s a change … a new circular has issued …. Circular 0035/2009.

It states:

all teachers who attend a summer course will be issued withn a certificate of attendance and completion of the course which must be presented to the Principal at the beginning of the school year, as evidence of completion of an approved summer course and entitlement to EPV leave. On receipt of this certificate, the principal may approve EPV leave for the teacher in accordance with the terms of circular 37/97. The principal must retain copies of the certificates within the school for future audit purposes.

Big Brother (D.E.S.) is finally cracking the whip.  Incidences of ‘ghost attendees’ should drop …… I wonder what’ll they’ll do about teachers (and others … sons, daughters etc. ) doing online courses for others while ‘others’ are off in sunny Spain sunning their lily white buttocks?