Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming here to discuss this topic with us. My party supports junior cycle reform, and the previous Government established the NCCA working group which made the proposals the Minister has developed from there. However, although we strongly support this much-needed project, I take issue with how it has been handled in recent years. It is very unfortunate that the introduction of such an important reform to our second level education system is starting in a mess, with some of the partners necessary to implement it not on board. As the Minister mentioned, both second level teaching unions have voted not to co-operate and have voted for industrial action.

One of the key concerns expressed by teachers and parents relates to the issue of independent assessment. I have also engaged at every opportunity I have with students in classrooms to gauge their opinions. The Minister is changing from the NCCA working group recommendation regarding the 60% exam element of the new JCSA no longer being independently assessed. There is grave concern over why he is going down that route. It is positive that the junior certificate student award is lower stakes and will not dominate the first half of the student's second level education, which I support. However, I believe we can make that exam lower stakes without removing independent assessment.

There is considerable support among teachers, parents and students that if a student does an exam in my old school, Carndonagh community school, we should be able to have the faith that that mark is consistent with and of a similar standard to the mark of a student who does an exam in a Kerry or Dublin school. We are fortunate that at the moment there is good faith in the junior certificate even though it needs to be reformed.

However, in my view and that of many others, it is not good to have teachers as the final arbiters of that 60% exam part of the new junior certificate. The teachers also become the final arbiters of their own work because the assessment of the students' work is also a reflection on the teacher. With human nature being human nature, there is always an incentive when marking to give students the benefit of the doubt. If a teacher is not performing, there is an incentive for him or her to avoid having his or her class shown up with a poor set of results. I ask the Minister to outline why he has gone down that route. Will he agree to reconsider it and continue with independent assessment?

I wish to touch on a few other issues.