Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I share the sentiments expressed by colleagues, Deputies Smith and Wall. Today, however, I wish to raise the serious concerns many people across the country have with regard to reform of the senior cycle in secondary schools. In the programme for Government, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independent Group wrote that they intend to continue the same programme of senior cycle reform that more than 40,000 teachers have rejected. The most important part of reform of any curriculum is to benefit students. As a secondary school teacher, I know that from first-hand experience. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, conducted a survey on additional assessment components, AACs. The results of that survey were absolutely stark.

In the context of equity of access, if the Minister, Deputy McEntee, was here and was being honest, there would be no way she could possibly state that every school has the same access to resources to move to this model of examination from September next. I firmly believe that students in our most disadvantaged areas and schools will be left behind. It will come as no surprise to anyone that students in private schools will have these resources immediately when those schools get the opportunity to adapt to this rushed reform.

While we in the Labour Party accept that reform is needed, we also accept that it must be reform which benefits students and teachers. What does that say about this rushed reform? It quite clearly says that the Department of Education will leave the most disadvantaged students even more disadvantaged. It is outrageous to contemplate that. It will leave our education system, particularly in the context of its integrity and how it is seen across the world, in a very difficult position. Our education system is renowned for its diverse, fair, inclusive and academically driven nature. There is genuine fear among my colleagues and those who taught me when I was younger that the integrity of the leaving certificate exam will be damaged significantly.

With the measure of the component being a minimum of 40%, how could we possibly guarantee that 40% of the leaving certificate exam is not AI-generated, ChatGPT-generated or, in some instances, paid for by a student or families? This is not to say that students or families are definitely going to do it, but it is a possibility. In addition, authentication is not possible right now. The system is completely open to manipulation. If the Minister, Deputy McEntee, were here I would ask her to indicate whether she believes that from 2027 onwards the leaving certificate will have the same integrity and enjoy the same respect that it does at present. That question would be rhetorical in nature. We know the answer to it.

As a secondary school teacher, I have serious concerns for teachers. In the context of all of the guidelines and advice set out, it is next to impossible for any teacher to authenticate the work being handed over. It is open to manipulation and puts our teachers in a very difficult position. I refer to circumstances where accusations may be made when teachers are trying to authenticate work, possibly submitted by students they have been teaching for six years. We are protecting neither the student nor the teacher. I could talk about this for hours.

The final point I wish to make relates to training for teachers. Ninety-eight per cent of the respondents to the ASTI's survey indicated that they have not received training. Having spoken to a number of my colleagues and former teachers and having sat in two staff rooms, I am aware that a number of teachers considering early retirement and others - some the same age as me and others who are new to the system - who are considering moving abroad in order to uphold the integrity of subjects they teach and to teach in systems of integrity where they do not have to put their students in difficult circumstances by being obliged to provide 40% of their examinations in the manner to which I refer, which is nearly impossible.

The responses to the ASTI's survey indicate that job dissatisfaction has risen from 22% to 33% in three years. The Government's idea of reducing class sizes to a ratio of 19:1 is out of the window if this is going to be the case and if this is the way that teachers are going to be treated. As the Labour Party has called for, we need a national convention on education before this Government destroys our system further.

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