asked the Minister for Education if he can state the reasons for the low percentage of passes in the various grades at the Irish Certificate Examinations for National Teachers, and how far the results correspond with the Inspectors' reports on the work done at the Summer Courses at the Colleges and Centres.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - IRISH CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION.
I cannot state definitely the reasons why so many candidates at the examinations referred to fail to reach the standards required in the different grades. These standards are fixed so as to test the ability of the recipients of certificates (a) to teach Irish as a living speech, and (b) in the case of the higher grades to give instruction through Irish in the ordinary subjects of the programme.
The Inspectors' reports on the Summer Courses in Irish relate chiefly to general matters such as the organisation of the courses, the methods employed, and the work done at them, and are not intended to give an indication of the attainments of the individual teacher-students in attendance. In so far as the reports of the Inspectors can be considered to indicate the general degree of proficiency of the classes, there is no discrepancy between them and the results of the examinations.
While attendance at a summer course is of great assistance in training a teacher in the best methods of acquiring a knowledge of Irish and applying that knowledge in the teaching of a school, a more extensive course of reading and study is necessary to qualify properly for the award of a certificate.