Seanad debates

Monday, 15 February 2021

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Mary Seery KearneyMary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I call for the Minister for Education to come to the House and facilitate a debate on the arrangements being put in place for the applied leaving certificate. We have had a lot of talk about leaving certificate students, and rightly so. They deserve certainty in what is already a very nerve wracking year within the context of Covid. I have been involved in the introduction and implementation of the applied leaving certificate for groups of students who have dyslexia. I also support the applied leaving certificate in a number of DEIS schools. The whole basis of it is that it happens over two years in four half-year modules. It is about personal development, self-esteem and self-knowledge.

Some of the traditional subjects are also vocational subjects. The list of vocational subjects includes woodwork, agriculture, horticulture, childcare, health and beauty, graphics, construction and engineering. These prepare young people for their transition to the workforce where the normal traditional leaving certificate would not facilitate the opportunity to show off and gain credits for their skills and abilities. Perhaps the inadequacy of the leaving certificate does not allow this. Where is the students' opportunity to do this? Where is their opportunity to perform these tasks, get these credits and do these projects? It is not being spoken about in the media. It is not being addressed. I have written to the Minister about it. They are subsumed among all of the other leaving certificate students but there is a cohort that needs to graduate this year and calculated grades will not meet their needs. We need to have an urgent debate on this particular group of students so their needs can be addressed and prioritised.

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