Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to this motion relating to the reform of the junior cycle that was tabled by Sinn Féin. I had a chance to listen to most of the comments. There was much decent debate but also some ill-informed debate. It is quite clear that some people do not actually understand the changes we proposed or the great lengths the Minister has gone to since November in changing some of the proposals or making advances to make this easier for everyone to adapt. I am surprised that some people would speak on this without having checked the facts but I suppose that is what one will get.

Last night, the Minister set out clearly the Government's position on the rationale for the reform. Much of the talk was about continual and in-house assessment versus a State examination. If one listens to some of the speakers earlier and again last night, one will see that much of the evidence has proved that it is that final examination and the lack of change to the assessment model that has prevented real reform. There is proof of that. It is not just us making it up. That is not what we do over here. It is even referred to in some of Sinn Féin Deputies' own speeches. A lot of research shows that the lack of reform in assessment has delayed real reform to the detriment of our students and their future.

It has been mentioned here by some Members that this is to do with funding. Deputy Ó Snodaigh referred to the comment that Fianna Fáil wanted to end the junior certificate just to save money. That is not the proposal here. Again, the funding for education is going back up with an extra €60 million in the 2015 budget. The Minister secured the extra money needed for this reform with over €9 million being allocated for it and a commitment that resources that are needed to back this up would be found when teased out and properly discussed. It is not a case of cutting money and Deputy Ó Snodaigh should look at his own pre-budget submission because Sinn Féin at the time forgot to allow for demographics and increased student numbers. Under Sinn Féin's budget, the teacher-pupil ratio in primary schools would have gone up from probably 28 to 30 and up by about half in secondary schools. If Sinn Féin wants to quote resources, it should look at its budget as well. The increase in the budget will provide an extra 1,700 teachers this year as well as SNAs. In the context of the debate, €5 million has been allocated which is a total increase of over €9 million to back up this reform structure so it is not about cutting budgets. Let us park that argument. If Sinn Féin is really genuine, it should park the misinformation and discuss the real issues it is concerned with but it should not throw in stuff. It is not about funding.

I was surprised when Deputy Ó Caoláin said that the Minister has not made any meaningful changes. The Deputy is usually quite a reasonable person. The Minister has come a long way. We have gone from 100% internal assessment to 40%. Deputy Tóibín referred to projects. I know that this 40% will be projects. At least 10% or 15% of the 40% internal assessment will be independently verified so it is not a case of just teachers being able to abuse it either positively or negatively. It will be checked and audited so it is not a case of just throwing it over there. There have been many changes and we want to be very clear about that.

I will go through some of the changes. It will no longer be a school certificate. It will very clearly be a State certificate so that is a change in case Sinn Féin thinks there has been no meaningful change. The State Examinations Commission will issue the State certificate. In addition, the commission will sample significant quantities of students' work to verify the marks awarded. Therefore, no teacher should feel under pressure to give a certain award because they say "no, this is going to be independently checked and verified." Teachers will have to share and compare their marking of students within each school in an internal moderation process so it is not a case of one teacher making all the decisions and doing all the marking. Let us actually talk about the changes that have been proposed. We accept that there was great concern before autumn 2014 but the Minister has come a long way even as close as last week when she spoke to the unions about this and being willing to continue talking. The impression that has been given here is that the door is shut and there will be no more talks. That is not the case at all. If Sinn Féin is genuine about it, it should look at what has already been agreed and then discuss the rest but it should not claim that nothing has changed, nothing is happening or nobody is listening because that is not the case. Most people here are genuine about real reform and want it for the benefit of students because that is what we need.

Every speaker here has said that the current system does not deliver what students need. If Sinn Féin really believes that, let us genuinely talk about the reforms and the difficulties that are there. The main concern voiced by teachers relates to having to assess their own students. We have come a long way on that. Yet when one talks to teachers, one finds that not all of them really had a full conversation among themselves about that. When one teases it out, they see where it has moved and are wiling to talk more about it. Talks will help this and make a big difference. That is why it is pity there will be a strike tomorrow but so be it. I think talks will continue on this and the Minister is open to that. Hopefully, we will get the change we need because most people want this but there has been a lot of movement.

The junior certificate is not meant to be a forerunner of the leaving certificate. It is meant to be a chance to develop students' skills - skills they will need for a modern environment today that involves an awful lot of technology. There is an opportunity for all sorts of short courses ranging from mental health, coding for IT and local tourism if one is interested in tourism in one's area. History was mentioned earlier. There is a great opportunity here. If a significant historic event took place in one's locality, one can do a course on that. Hopefully, it will encourage students to become more engaged and to stay in education. There is plenty of evidence that students can very often lose interest in second or third year. This is about trying to adapt the system to keep their interest, keep them engaged and give them the skills they will need to do the leaving certificate and go on to higher or further education or a job. It is about giving them the skills and the current system does not do that.

See this speech in context