asked the Minister for Education whether any consideration has been given to the possibility of relating the Irish leaving certificate curriculum to the British general certificate of education, to enable any Irish emigrant who is forced to work in Britain and who holds a leaving certificate to gain recognition of his qualification and thus have better job opportunities; and whether he will initiate any joint consideration of this with the British Minister for Education.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Recognition of Leaving Certificate.
61.
This matter has been raised from time to time with appropriate authorities in Great Britain. Successes in the Leaving Certificate are accepted in lieu of GCE passes at Ordinary Level but Honours in the Leaving Certificate are generally not accepted in lieu of passes at Advanced level in corresponding subjects of the GCE. There is a high level of specialisation in what is known as the "sixth form" in England, and students commonly take the Advanced level GCE in as few as one or two subjects. I would not be prepared to abandon our broader Leaving Certificate programme in favour of a narrow specialisation.
The new Leaving Certificate structure which I announced recently contains provision for a further year's course leading to the Advanced Certificate, in which a greater degree of concentration is envisaged.
When the Advanced Certificate becomes operative the matter will be raised again with the authorities in Great Britain.