Trevor Sargent
Question:217 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Education and Science his plans to have Russian available to students at second and third level. [21810/02]
Written Answers. - Languages Programme.
A syllabus in leaving certificate Russian, developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, is available to all second-level schools. Circular M14/01, issued in March 2001, announced this fact to schools and stated that the syllabus would be examined for the first time in June 2003. The examination will contain the same elements as those in the modern languages traditionally on offer, that is, an oral examination, an aural examination, a test in reading comprehension and a test in writing.
Russian is available as a subject at third level as part of two undergraduate degree courses pro vided by Trinity College Dublin where it may be pursued either as a part of the two subject moderatorship course or as part of the business studies and Russian course. In general, it is a matter of individual academic decision for each university as to the range and type of subjects provided having due regard to available resources and institutional strategy. Russian is also available as a subject in the Letterkenny Institute of Technology as part of the National Diploma in Business Studies in Languages and European Business.