Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 136: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the membership of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment course committee for leaving certificate Gaeilge detailing the organisations represented and if she or her officials have met representatives of these organisations with a view to altering the leaving certificate Gaeilge course as detailed in circular letter 20/2010 [37141/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has statutory responsibility for advising on curriculum and assessment issues in early childhood, primary and second level school settings. This advice is processed through the consultative structures of the NCCA, on which my Department, along with the State Examinations Commission and the partners in education are represented. The following is the list of groups represented on the NCCA Leaving Certificate Gaeilge syllabus committee: Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland; Teachers' Union of Ireland; Irish Universities Association; Joint Managerial Body; Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools; Irish Vocational Education Association; Higher Education and Training Awards Council; Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge; An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta; Foras na Gaeilge; State Examinations Commission; Department of Education and Skills.

Circular 20/2010 informs schools of the prescribed prose and poetry which will apply for the Leaving Certificate Examinations in Gaeilge in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The material included reflects the recommendations of the NCCA which were transmitted to my Department by the Council following the course committee's deliberations. It is not the practice of my Department to meet NCCA course committees, given that my Department has a representative on them, and that the ensuing advice is transmitted formally to my Department by the Council. My Department engages with the NCCA on an ongoing basis.

A revised syllabus in Leaving Certificate Irish has begun in all schools in September 2010, for first examination in 2012. As announced in 2007, the proportion of marks available for oral assessment will increase in the 2012 examinations to 40%. The objective is to promote a significant shift in emphasis towards Irish as a spoken language, where students can communicate and interact in a spontaneous way, and where Irish is spoken every day in schools. In order to ensure optimum time and space for increased oral interaction in the classroom, and to allow for an increase of 15% in the marks for oral assessment, the volume of literature in the revised syllabus at higher level in the Leaving Certificate has been reduced on the advice of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and the study of the history of the language as a separate item has been incorporated into the teaching of literature.

Some concerns have been raised that this change will result in the revised syllabus presenting insufficient challenge for students with a high proficiency in Irish, particularly in Gaeltacht and Irish medium schools, and that it is insufficient to maintain a rich speech and writing culture. The revised syllabus is being implemented as planned. However, I have asked the NCCA to review the implementation of the programme in the light of the issues raised and the experiences of the first cohort of candidates under the revised assessment system.