Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The teachers have made it clear that their opposition to these proposals, to the extent that they are taking industrial action again this week, is serious. The general rule of thumb is that the people responsible for running an institution on a day to day basis are those best placed to know how it should be run, but this is not to say that changes cannot be introduced.

I know the Minister has consulted widely on these matters and discussed them with teachers and their representatives, but the problem with consultation, particularly departmental consultation, is that it can be something of a PR exercise. We have seen that happen in other areas. When Ministers hand the consultation process to officials, this makes matters worse. A Minister is elected, but when officials play too great a role in negotiations, this can cause problems and skew the outcome, leading to a situation similar to that we have currently, where the Government is in confrontation with the two teacher unions at secondary level, the ASTI and the TUI.

The spin in regard to the proposed changes is that they are part of improving the education system and making it more student friendly. However, I suspect more basic reasons lie behind the proposals. This is made clear by the fact that the previous, Fianna Fáil-led Government, which now opposes policies it had been about to implement, was also planning to implement measures along the line of the current proposals and proposed changes to the junior certificate. However, the reason given by the previous Government at the time was that the then proposed changes were being made for financial reasons rather than being to do with the welfare of students or the education system as a whole. It was bluntly stated that the reason for the changes was to save money. At the time, we were told these moneys were badly needed to pay debts and fill other holes in the economy due to the mismanagement of the Government of the time. Recent declassified documents dating from that time reveal that saving money was central to all the proposals and drove the plan to change or dismantle the junior certificate as we know it.

In the face of widespread opposition, the current Government has realised that it needs to put some kind of ideological veneer on its proposals. This was particularly true in the case of the former Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. He claimed, as the current Minister will claim, that the proposed changes are based on educational rather than financial criteria. The teachers and increasing numbers of parents do not accept this. I have seen statements from parent representatives of national organisations stating the parents fully support the changes the Minister is advancing. However, opinion polls taken on this issue do not show this. The word I hear on the ground is that parents are very concerned.

I appeal to the Minister to engage in proper negotiations on the proposals to ensure the teachers do not need to engage further in industrial action, which would impact on students currently preparing for the junior certificate. Often when teachers or other public servants who engage in industrial action, there is a backlash from right wing media suggesting they are out to get more money for themselves or improve their pension entitlements etc. That is not the reason for this protest and the Minister knows that as well as I do. The reason teachers are protesting concern education. It is about upholding the integrity of the existing system.

There has been significant talk about reform, but let us look at what reform has taken place at secondary level. Substantial reform has taken place over the past ten to 15 years, right across the State. Teachers have accepted, embraced and implemented second component assessments, project work, portfolio, practical and oral based work. There is no issue in that regard. Where the problem arises concerns how work is assessed and marked. Teachers do not mark their own pupils for final exams. Doing this would put them under enormous pressure, particularly in the country. If a teacher lives beside a pupil and talks to the parents of that pupil daily, this puts the teacher in a difficult spot in regard to final assessments. This is the issue.

Teachers want to embrace change, but they and parents want assessments to be carried out externally. What the Minister is trying to do is to have them carried out internally. I accept the Minister has moved 60% on this, but we cannot have 60% integrity. We must have 100% integrity. I appeal to the Minister to engage with the unions again in a meaningful way to try to sort this out.

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