Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
454. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the teaching of a school subject; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44092/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraLanguages Connect, Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 – 2026 aims to increase and diversify the range of languages taught and learned in our schools and Higher Education Institutions.
As part of the Strategy, four new Foreign Language curricula were developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) for Leaving Certificate following a public consultation process; Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese.
These four new curricula are available for schools since September 2020 with a first Leaving Certificate examination in summer 2022.
We currently have over 1,000 students studying Mandarin Chinese at Junior Cycle, TY and Leaving Certificate levels.
Concerns were raised during the public consultation process about the supply of Mandarin Chinese teachers. To address these concerns, the Department asked the Chinese Ministry of Education if they could supply teachers if required, this was agreed to and included in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two Departments.
To date, we have been able to source Mandarin Chinese teachers domestically to fulfil the demands of our schools so we have not had to rely on the provision in the MoU.
In order to ensure that the teaching of Mandarin Chinese is sustainable into the future, the Department is considering future teacher training requirements.
