Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have a phone. I do not believe we have plenty of time left. We are in a political stalemate. The unions have turned their backs on the Minister. We are in an information vacuum which is making the situation worse. I do not often say this but my PhD was in the area of instruction, curriculum and assessment. All of the models I examined believed in the integrity of the professional and the teacher. This follows what Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell stated, that we must have trust in their professionalism. However, in all of the assessment models I examined there was a recommendation for an element of external assessment. Will the Minister confirm he will examine an element of external moderation to ensure trust, confidence and, most especially, consistency of standard? My recommendation is that 80% of scripts would be marked by the school while 20% would be marked externally, State-led, to ensure consistency of standard.

Will the Minister confirm whether his Department is open to discussing the proposals for a robust and rigorous external assessment? Will he commit to engaging with the partners to break the current stalemate? Will posts be created to co-ordinate schools' internal assessments? There has been no word on this matter yet, but the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment recommended it. Such a measure could overcome the impasse. A co-ordinator of assessment post could be as important as a school's principalship. I do not agree with the Minister that there is plenty of time. He is embedding the problem by not moving.

The unions' banning of short courses is regrettable. I was involved in designing the curriculum for the short course on Chinese language and culture. I am appalled that the Minister is not providing teachers to roll out this course. Will he elaborate? What good is a curriculum without competent teachers? In Galway, 23 schools are teaching Chinese language and culture through a unique, voluntary initiative that involves intern teachers from China working alongside Irish teachers. There is an inequity. One of the aspects the Minister used to sell this reform of short courses was the introduction of, for example, subjects like coding and Chinese language and culture, but we must provide the right teaching competence.

Some 90% of children take the leaving certificate exam. The Minister has supported me in respect of early school leavers. It is not fair to the 10% of children - sometimes up to 16% - who drop out early that they will not have taken a State exam. It is a clear inequity. We should not turn our backs on them. They are the most disadvantaged children. There are links between dropping out and crime and other social ills.