Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for being here. She knows that the secondary school teachers are going on strike in December and January with very good reason, because they want the junior certificate externally examined in all subjects and forms of subjects. They do not want 40% internal examination regardless of what the 40% entails.

Teachers are in favour of new forms of assessment and new proposals and they welcome all new forms of practice. Down through the years they have initiated great creative and imaginative practices on practical assessments in their own subject disciplines. Many subjects have practical assessment procedures at their core, for example, science, art, history, CSPE, music and languages. However, these are always externally assessed. That is the key to their success and the key to why all students regard the State examination as relevant. It is also why teachers are going on strike. They are going on strike to maintain the truth of the external examination assessment, keep it above reproach, maintain its human objectivity, keep it at arm's length nationally, maintain national standardisation and above all to maintain its national honesty. They are in favour of all kinds of procedures in the future. They are not in favour of internal assessment.

There is a national impasse and the teachers are correct. I am going to be backing them. The reason the Minister is here today is to possibly tell me how the impasse is going to be resolved and what she intends to do about it because the teachers are experts and correct. The Department is not.