Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, has been asked to review the junior certificate and advise on the scope for reform which would cater for the promotion of understanding, creativity and innovation, and which would provide appropriate evidence of learning. Concerns have also been raised about curriculum overload and rote learning. As I await advice on this matter from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment setting out the detail of its proposed reforms, it would not be appropriate for me to spell out a definitive timeframe for implementation at this stage. I expect this advice this summer, after it has been discussed with the partners in education through the council's consultative structures. I will then to be in a position to consider more fully the implementation issues which arise.

I would like to see movement on this for students entering second level in September 2012, but detailed implementation will need to be considered in the context of the proposals being presented and the resources available, and the need to prioritise the national literacy and numeracy strategy. In 2010, 88% of the 56,088 candidates sat junior certificate science. In other words, nearly 90% took science on a voluntary basis. I do not wish to pre-empt the advice of the NCCA on whether this should be a compulsory subject. A total of 90% is not a bad statistic in the first instance.

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