asked the Minister for Education if his Department ever had, or proposes to have, discussions with the British Ministry of Education in relation to standardisation of the leaving certificate and general certificate of education examinations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Standardisation of Examinations.
37.
The question of relating the leaving certificate to the British general certificate of education has been raised from time to time with appropriate authorities in Britain. The position is that while successes in the leaving certificate are accepted in lieu of general certificate of education passes at ordinary level, honours in the leaving certificate are generally not accepted in lieu of passes at advanced level in corresponding subjects of the GCE. The difficulty in this regard springs from the fact that there is a degree of specialisation involved in the advanced GCE in so far as it may be taken in as few as one or two subjects. On educational grounds I do not feel that we should abandon our broader leaving certificate programme in favour of a comparatively narrow specialised course.