Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been trying for the past 25 years to reform a curriculum which, by general consensus amongst the educationalists, including many teachers, is no longer fit for purpose in the 21st century. One of the blockages to implementing the desired reform was the cost and complexities associated with a new form of assessment for a State examination. It was a major cost factor. I took the decision, on the advice of officials in the Department and others, that in this day and age we do not need a State examination for young people at the age of 15 because we do not want them to leave school at the age of 15. Once upon a time we had the primary school certificate, which was a State examination for 12 year olds - and in some cases 11 year olds - and that was the only State certificate they were ever going to get in the education system because, sadly, many of them did leave school. It was abolished in 1967 and primary schools have flourished ever since.

The decision to change the nature of the junior certificate examination from a State examination to an in-house examination that would roll on to the leaving certificate was central to enabling us to move to introduce the desired reforms, which have been welcomed by the parents, management bodies and principals.

Do the teachers have concerns? Yes, they do. Are they right to have concerns?

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