Inspectors of my Department nominated to serve on course committees of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and on the council itself are appointed both as representatives of the Department and in order to contribute their expertise to the deliberations of these bodies.
The course committees make recommendations to the council which, in turn, make its recommendations to me.
I should stress that the advice of the council has been accepted by me on the great majority of issues. Important examples include the revised syllabuses in nine subjects introduced in phase I of the junior certificate, in a further five subjects in phase II and the council's recommendations on senior cycle provision.
The council is, of course, advisory in its nature and I would have to reserve my position on the council's recommendations on any matter having regard to my overall responsibility for educational provision at both primary and post-primary levels.
The Deputy will be interested to know that I am arranging a series of meetings on the junior certificate with all the interested parties.
