Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2012
277. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Skills the actual number and the percentage number of pupils who took honours and pass level history for the junior and leaving certificate for each of the past five years; the steps being taken to increase that number in the forthcoming years. [52315/12]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. I wish to inform the Deputy that statistics in relation to the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations (2000 - 2012), including the number of candidates who completed Junior and Leaving Certificate History, can be downloaded from State Examinations Commission website:- www.examinations.ie/statistics. In the new Junior Cycle, as described in my Framework for Junior Cycle, all students will be expected to achieve 24 statements of learning over the three years of their Junior Cycle. These include valuing local, national and international heritage and understanding the importance of the relationship between past and current events and the forces that drive change and understanding the origins and impacts of social, economic and environmental aspects of the world around him/her. It is clear therefore that the development of a student's historical awareness skills, will be necessary to achieve the required junior cycle outcomes. Overall, I am in favour of leaving the decisions on what subjects are offered to the discretion of the school, and of students having as broad a range of options to choose from as possible.
