Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth
Curriculum Reform at Senior Cycle: Discussion (Resumed)
2:00 am
Mr. Preston Ó Caoimh:
It is kind of a loaded question. There is a lot that could be changed, but it all comes down to what everyone has been saying today. It is about the funding and resources that are supplied to teachers and schools to put it forward. We are happy with the idea of the AACs. We are moving away from the high-stake exams that just mount stress on students where two weeks of the students' lives determine everything else, if they decide to go on to university, which most people do. Not everything that works on paper works when it is not properly funded and supported.
Another big problem is the stark difference between higher and ordinary levels in a lot of subjects, especially maths and Irish. For example, people who are going for a medicine course need to do higher level maths, but it is very different than ordinary level. When I did ordinary level maths, I was doing percentages while my friends were doing algebra 3 and pulling their hair out in class. They are my two main points.