Professor Diarmuid Hegarty:

Deputy Ó Ríordáin has asked a fundamental question. I have been teaching for 50 years and one thing I have learned from students is that what is learned is what is assessed. If a topic is not on the exam, it will not get the students' attention. Mr. Miley rightly talked about students falling off the cliff when moving from transition year to fifth year. It is because the assessment completely changes. The focus of the assessment in the leaving certificate is utterly different. I completely agree with the Deputy about education preparing students for life. It is about much more than an academic education. It prepares them for life, not just for work. All those skills developed in transition year need to be better assessed in the leaving certificate so that people do not fall off the cliff. It should be a continuation. That is the short answer to the Deputy's question.