Vol. 373 No. 6
asked the Minister for Education if she intends to undertake a review of the primary curriculum as recommended by the Curriculum and Examinations Board; if so, if she will ensure that it is an independent review carried out by the board and not by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
36.
asked the Minister for Education when the rolling review of the primary school curriculum will commence; by whom it will be carried out; the resources to be allocated to it; and the order in which aspects of the curriculum will be examined.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 36 together.
Since the establishment of the Curriculum Unit in my Department in 1977, various aspects of the 1971 Primary School Curriculum (Curaclam na Bunscoile) have been investigated by the unit as well as by other research agencies. In regard to the review to which the Deputies refer, I have initiated discussions with the Chairman of the Interim Curriculum and Examinations Board with a view to making such detailed arrangements as may be necessary, in consultation with the board, for carrying out the review. Questions such as the order in which aspects of the curriculum will be considered, the resources to be devoted to the review and the structures to be put in place for its execution, including that of the composition and chairing of the Review Committee, are among the matters which are currently the subject of these discussions. Any recommendations arising from the review would of course, be submitted to me, as Minister for Education, for such decisions as might be necessary. The Minister for Education is the person with ultimate statutory responsibility for the curriculum in national schools.
12.
asked the Minister for Education the areas of curriculum reform at primary and post-primary levels she considers to be the most urgent; and the action, if any, she intends taking in these areas.
I regard all areas of the primary and post-primary schools curricula as important. It would be invidious of me to single out any particular area as being more important or deserving of more urgent treatment that others. I refer the Deputy to the reply being given by me today to an analogous question put down by Deputies John Bruton and Charles Flanagan in regard to the proposed review of the primary school curriculum.
The post-primary curriculum has already been the subject of review by the Interim Curriculum and Examinations Board whose recommendations in the matter are contained in the document entitled "In Our Schools". These recommendations are at present under consideration in my Department.
