I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 121 together.
Initial advice on the reform of the senior cycle was submitted by the NCCA to my Department in June 2004 and it indicated that a further advice would be submitted early in 2005 setting out the configuration of subjects, short courses and options, and the assessment and implementation implications of the proposals. That second advice, which will enable my Department to assess the resource and operational implications of the proposals, has not yet been received.
The NCCA proposals set out a vision for the type of school system which might exist by 2010. The proposals envisage a re-structured senior cycle curriculum consisting of transition units, short courses and subjects. The option of a two or three year cycle would be retained and the leaving certificate applied programme would continue as a discrete programme. All pupils, including LCA pupils, would follow at least one transition unit and many pupils would take a greater number.
The proposals provide also for an increased emphasis on a wider range of modes of assessment such as practical/portfolio/project work and with more frequent assessment events. However, as with the present system, assessment will continue to be predominantly on the basis of examinations which are externally set and externally marked. This is in keeping with international trends in high stakes examinations.
Overall the proposals set out a long-term vision for fundamental reform in senior cycle provision which will have significant policy, resource, professional development, staffing, assessment, equipment and infrastructural implications for the education system into the future. These issues must all be explored thoroughly before a decision on implementation can be made. The receipt of the NCCA's second advice, which is not expected to be finalised until after Easter, is an important step in that process of analysis, and detailed costings of resource implications have not been prepared by my Department in the interim.
I am aware of the issues which emerged in the NCCA's public consultation process and research on the future of senior cycle in Ireland, and of the continuing dialogue which is being undertaken through the NCCA's collaborative structures in finalising the second stage of its advice to me. I look forward to receiving that advice at an early date and to giving it careful and thorough consideration.
We must ensure that, as our education system continues to evolve in the knowledge society, reforms build on the existing strengths of the system while addressing its weaknesses. We need reforms that are designed to ensure that our system has integrity, relevance and quality for all our students, including those that are currently served well and those whose needs are not being as well met at present. It is important to ensure that any reform of senior cycle, first, preserves confidence in the system and maintains the strengths of the existing leaving certificate in terms of objectivity, integrity and public and employer confidence and, second, achieves the right balance between structured and independent learning for students.