Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I assure him that we will co-operate fully with the speedy passage of this amending legislation. The most important part of the speech we have just heard was when the Minister of State said: "the Teaching Council is concerned with teaching rather than the narrower focus upon teachers". When the Teaching Council was first proposed, fears were expressed about the powers and targets that were supposed to exist. A great disservice was done to the teaching profession by elements of the media which focused on the idea that this was a vehicle through which inefficient teachers would be sacked. The imbalanced debate took a new focus and unfortunately it was negative rather than positive. I regard the Teaching Council as a very positive step forward for the profession and for teaching and I am delighted the Minister of State has included this aspect in his contribution. It should not merely focus on teachers alone, but also on the concept of teaching.

In the past two days newspapers have carried two disturbing reports. One report dealt with teaching and the issue of literacy. It was highlighted that many students graduating at various levels had serious problems with literacy. We all know this is the case for many reasons. The importance of the junior certificate has often been debated in this House and the other House, and by the partners in education. While it also applies at leaving certificate level, in particular the junior certificate examination papers contain multiple-choice questions with an increasing emphasis on students ticking a box to give the correct answer. While this may not apply to such an extent to examinations on the languages, mathematics, history and geography, we are providing an easy option when compared with the traditional format. While I am not a traditionalist in any way, we are providing an option which does not press students to express themselves.

I have not corrected examination papers but I have assessed them up to leaving certificate honours standard in which students are required to structure complete sentences. Opting out of that process will result in many students coming out with an incomplete product. We are not getting the best out of students because of the way we set the papers and test them. That model needs to be changed.

Illiteracy is a problem and it is too convenient for people to stay illiterate. In modern life we have the text language used on phones, which is undoubtedly leading to problems. Compositions by children now contain an element of such language because it is fashionable. With question papers that allow for such composition, we will always have problems with some students. If we want students to perform to the best of their ability they must be examined in a way that searches for their best ability.

Many students are failing leaving certificate pass and junior certificate mathematics examinations and officialdom has responded by proposing changes to increase pass levels, which is fair enough and would give positive sense of achievement for the student. We are talking about high levels of illiteracy from primary to second level, including among junior and leaving certificate students and all those in between who drop out of school. It has been stated in this House that over 1,000 students fail to transfer from primary to second level. The drop-out rate at second level is alarming because those students do not have any qualifications or even adequate literacy skills. Those problems must be tackled. The current format of examination whereby students have to tick boxes is unsatisfactory and a contributory factor to the literacy difficulties at that level.

The increasing problem of unruly behaviour was mentioned earlier. One of the main functions of the Teaching Council will be to suggest a mechanism whereby that problem can be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Statistics indicate that 47% of retiring teachers do so as a result of stress-related factors. That is not good enough. We must have clarification on where the responsibility lies for dealing with unruly behaviour by students because that has been a grey area over the years. It is bad enough if it is having such an effect that 47% of teachers retire because of stress but it is even worse when we see diligent students who want to get on with their work being disrupted in school. Whatever it takes to address the problem must be done by all the partners in education, be it the Teaching Council, the Minister or the boards of management. There must be clarification on the action that can be taken within the law and by whom. It is time this problem was dealt with and grey areas clarified once and for all. We are a well-educated society and if we are to prosper and continue the economic advantages we have currently, it is important our education system produces highly-educated people. Nothing must be allowed to disrupt that process.

It is unfortunate that many commentators outside the area of education have pointed the finger at bad teachers. It is unfair and unacceptable that the morale of teachers would be undermined by outsiders without any justification. Where it is justified it must be addressed but where there is no justification it is important that somebody steps in. It is the responsibility of the Minister and the Department to put in place a process for people in the profession who are experiencing difficulties.

I ask the Minister of State to request the Minister, now that the council is in place, to consider delivering education in the best possible environment, for which she will have the full support of this side of the House. People who cause disruption to that process must be dealt with in a positive way by the powers that be, and somebody must clear away the grey area that existed in the past.