Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the likely impact in terms of subjects of his intention to reduce the number of junior certificate subjects. [21995/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As part of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy I announced plans to limit the number of subjects which can be taken in the Junior certificate examinations to a maximum of 8 to allow more time to be spent on the development of key skills such as literacy and numeracy, and to provide for greater depth of learning. While it is my intention to limit the number of examinable subjects a student will sit to eight, there will be no restriction on the number of subjects a student can study during the three years of the junior cycle.

Key objectives of the reform are to promote active learning and embed key skills, promote greater creativity and innovation, address curriculum overload and rote earning and strengthen literacy and numeracy. It is important too to put the focus on learning as opposed to examinations in what is no longer a high stakes environment. The purpose would not be to limit the range of subject choices in schools or the range of subjects available for examination purposes, but rather to make time and space for active learning, the development of key transferable skills and to reduce the focus on examinations at this stage of the cycle. Research undertaken by the ESRI on students as they transferred from primary level and progressed through the second level system indicates that junior cycle students were taking 10 to 15 subjects for examination purposes and were stressed, and that the examinations had a negative backwash effect on the quality of their learning. It is important that we address these issues.