Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 May 2014
15. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his response to a recently undertaken survey which suggests that people want to see independent assessment of students at junior cycle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23380/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra18. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his response to a recent survey which indicates a high degree of public support for independent assessment at junior cycle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23366/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra43. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a poll that suggests strong public support for external and independent assessment for junior certificate students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23382/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI ask the Minister for his response to a recent survey which indicates a high degree of public support for independent assessment at junior cycle level.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 18 and 43 together.
I am aware of and have noted the findings of the Irish Independent-Millward Brown opinion poll which was published last week.
Last year, officials from the Department went to 12 locations around the country and met parents to explain the implications of the implementation of the framework for the junior cycle. Parents had concerns - I am a parent and I speak to other parents - but when the new approaches were explained they understood the need for these new approaches and the vast majority of parents welcomed them.
In the past few weeks my officials met representatives of both the national parents' councils – primary and post-primary - to discuss the needs of parents. It has been agreed that both national parent councils for primary and post-primary will, in partnership with the NCCA, organise a series of meetings around the country between now and the school summer holidays to explain the new approach to learning and assessment. The arrangements for these are detailed in the accompanying table.
There is a significant information already available for parents on the NCCA website at www.juniorcycle.ie.
|
Date |
County |
Venue |
|
Monday 27th May 2013 |
Dublin North |
Dublin Skylon Hotel, Upper Drumcondra Rd., Drumcondra, Dublin 9 |
|
Monday 27th May 2013 |
Dublin West |
Crown Plaza, Blanchardstown |
|
Wednesday 29th May 2013 |
Dublin South |
Dublin West Ed Centre |
|
Thursday 30th May 2013 |
Monaghan |
Glencarn Hotel, Castleblaney |
|
Tuesday 4th June 2013 |
Wexford |
Whites of Wexford |
|
Tuesday 4th June 2013 |
Donegal |
Mount Errigal Hotel |
|
Wednesday 5th June 2013 |
Tralee |
Tralee Education Centre |
|
Thursday 6th June 2013 |
Cork City |
Rochestown Park |
|
Thursday 6th June 2013 |
Limerick |
South Court Hotel, Raheen |
|
Monday 10th June 2013 |
Mayo |
Mayo Education Centre, Castlebar |
|
Tuesday 11th June 2013 |
Galway |
Salthill Hotel, Promenade, Galway |
|
Thursday 13th June 2013 |
Longford Town |
Longford Arms Hotel |
I am afraid the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Quinn, are living in their own bubble regarding their views on the reform of the junior cycle student award. I attended one of the 12 meetings that took place throughout the country. There were attendances of 50, 60 and 70 people at the 12 meetings. The Minister has before him a survey by a reputable polling company telling him that 60% of parents believe that independent assessment at junior cycle level should continue. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, has not been listening on this issue. He tried to dismiss it as a concern of teachers alone and said that the parents to whom he had spoken did not have a concern. The evidence is available now to indicate that parents believe independent assessment should continue. I asked transition year students for their views and the majority of them believe independent assessment should continue. The way this issue has been handled is unfortunate.
It is time the Minister and the Minister of State started to listen to the views of others on this issue. Reform is about more than just the Minister for Education and Skills.
Reform is about more than just the Minister for Education and Skills. However, there are times in the lifetime of any Government when somebody must take the lead and a stand in terms of what needs to be done to reform the education system. Nobody denies that the junior certificate programme, as constituted, is broken. It serves no function or purpose in empowering young people to be exceptionally able in the future. We abolished the primary certificate programme many years ago when it became apparent that it also served no useful function. Everybody agrees that this is the right direction in which to move. There is no question about this; what is at issue is implementation. The Minister and I have engaged with young people on a number of issues in the recent past, including this one. The door is open in terms of how we should implement this badly needed reform of the junior cycle system. The working group has been established and includes representatives of the parents council. As I said, we propose to re-engage with parents and will do our best to make people aware of the opportunities to engage with us at various centres throughout the country. There will be a public relations campaign around these opportunities. Our door is open to parents, student and teacher representatives. Nobody denies this is the direction in which we need to move. I agree that we need to re-engage to determine how we can address the concerns raised by parents and teachers.
Unfortunately, since the Minister announced his intentions in this regard, his door has not been open. The initial National Council for Curriculum and Assessment working group report on the future of junior certificate reform advocated that the 60% examination part of the new junior cycle student award should be independently marked. The Minister made a unilateral decision not to accept this recommendation. At the teachers' conferences last year he described junior certificate reform as a person political project. The result of his approach to this matter is that teachers are refusing to co-operate and there is talk of further industrial action by them in the autumn. As pointed out by the Minister of State, reform of the second level system is very much needed. However, it is being bogged down and brought into question by the approach being taken by the Minister. One of the key issues is independent assessment. It is time the Minister opened his door and worked with others in coming up with a solution and that he take on board the views of parents, teachers and students on independent assessment and incorporated it into the very much needed reform of the junior cycle system.
We must be careful not to lose faith in the professional capacity of teachers to independently, fairly and transparently verify the progress of their students. I am not suggesting the Deputy is making that charge. As parents, we receive reports on the academic achievements and social success or otherwise in the school setting of our children at the end of first and second year and the first half of third year. We have trusted this system for decades. Why should we not trust it now? That is one of the key questions for me. That said, if parents and the teaching profession, in which I have the utmost faith, are expressing concerns, we need to re-engage. Without that engagement and the support of parents, teacher unions and young people we cannot move forward together. The Minister has stated he is open to significant discussion on the independent assessment and verification of young people's achievements, academically and otherwise. His door and that of the Department of Education and Skills remain open. As I stated, we propose to engage again with parents in the next number of weeks. This engagement will continue until we arrive at a consensus on how to move forward together.
